Forum:Reasons why cards are Forbidden/Limited

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List of Reasons for Why Cards are Forbidden/Limited
Card Name	Reasons
Forbidden
Agido the Ancient Sentinel	The key cards of the Ishizu-mill strategy. Agido and Kelbek are capable of milling numerous cards from both players' Decks whenever they're sent from the hand to the GY, while Kelbek also has the utility of Special Summoning itself and bounce an opponent's Special Summoned monster. These cards could often dump Keldo the Sacred Protector and Mudora the Sword Oracle (both Limited) for controlling cards the GY to deny the opponent from gaining any advantage from their cards in the GY. These cards paired with Tearlaments proved to be a very powerful meta deck strategy as the mill effects of Agido and Kelbek procced the effects of each other, and the Tearlaments cards to search more Tearlament cards, Fusion Summon etc.
Kelbek the Ancient Vanguard
Amazoness Archer	Cannon Soldier and its ilk are classic burn FTK enablers with no once-per-turn restriction which can be used in many strategies. The original was infamous, but spared being Forbidden for so long (unlike its faster Spell counterpart, Mass Driver) since it has the disadvantage of requiring a Normal Summon or another card to Special Summon it. The game is much faster now, and methods to Special Summon it and its counterparts easily are widespread. In particular, various Link-era burn strategies featuring Firewall Dragon (now Forbidden) and the player's choice of engine brought them to the fore enough for them to be Forbidden. All except MK-2 are also searchable. These cards are Unlimited in the TCG.
Cannon Soldier
Cannon Soldier MK-2
Toon Cannon Soldier
Artifact Scythe	An Artifact monster that locks the opponent out of Summoning from their Extra Deck if it is Special Summoned during the opponent's turn. Can be Special Summoned directly from the Deck with Artifact Sanctum, or setting it directly from the Deck with Artifact Dagda and then destroying it during the opponent's turn (with cards such as Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer or T.G. Wonder Magician) to proc its self-revival effect).
Baronne de Fleur	A generic Level 10 Synchro Monster with a variety of strong effects: to destroy one card on the field, an omni-negate (though it could only use it once while face-up on the field) and can tag itself out to Summon any Level 9 or lower monster from the GY, allowing itself to be re-Summoned to get its omni-negate effect again. Heavily abused in a lot of Decks due to it being easy to Summon. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Barrier Statue of the Stormwinds	A Barrier Statue monster whose effect is to prevent both players from Special Summoning monsters, except WIND monsters. Its Winged-Beast type allows it to be searched by Floowandereeze & Robina (then subsequently Normal Summoned) and it can be Special Summoned from the deck with Simorgh, Bird of Sovereignty or Raidraptor - Arsenal Falcon. With the WIND Attribute not being a popular to Summon within the current metagame, this can easily prevent most decks from playing. The card was mainly used by Floowandereeze decks for this win con.
Blackwing - Gofu the Vague Shadow	Level 5 Tuner with a Cyber Dragon-like effect. Special Summons two Tokens when it is Summoned by its own condition, allowing you to revive a Blackwing Synchro Monster from your Graveyard. Allows for easy plays into Ultimaya Tzolkin, which easily Summons high-Level Dragon Synchro Monsters such as Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons or Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon. The Tokens it Summons allow for fast Link Monster plays, and make it a "1-card Link-3".
Block Dragon	A Rock which synergized extremely well with the Adamancipator archetype. It could be easily searched with Gallant Granite, then Summoned, send it to the GY as Link Material, easily proccing its effect to search up to 3 Rock monsters (which could easily be extenders to build oppressive endboards), then re-Summon itself from the GY as many times as needed (as its Special Summon procedure was not once per turn) for its protection effect or an extra Link Material. This card is Limited in the OCG.
Borreload Savage Dragon	A generic Level 8 Synchro Monster which can equip itself with a Link Monster from the GY and give itself Borrel Counters, which can be spent on its omni-negate Quick Effect. Similar to Baronne De Fleur, this card was heavily used for its easy-to-access omni-negate effect. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon	A generic Level 8 Synchro Monster whose on-Synchro Summon effect mills 4 or 5 cards. It can also recur itself from the GY after it is sent there. This card is Unlimited in Master Duel.
Crystron Halqifibrax	The third part of an "Unholy Trinity" of powerful Links, which also includes Firewall Dragon and Summon Sorceress. Easily Link Summoned with almost any method that allows you to Special Summon a Tuner (Blackwing - Steam the Cloak, Glow-Up Bulb, even something like Instant Fusion into Sea Monster of Theseus...). Immediately climbs into Summon Sorceress with its first effect. Second effect can also be used as an easy way into a Tuner Synchro Monster such as Shooting Riser Dragon or T.G. Wonder Magician.
Curious, the Lightsworn Dominion	A powerful Link 3 monster that synergizes very well with milling strategies, the most recent strategy prior to its ban being that of Ishizu Tearlaments. In particular, this card can selectively mill a key Spell/Trap to the GY, then be used to Link Summon Knightmare Gryphon to set that Spell/Trap back to the field.
Cyber Jar	Destroys all monsters instantly. Unlike Morphing Jar #2, this has a set number of cards to get, allowing players to gain instant advantage easily. Swarms the field by itself and can create OTKs and can give either player crazy advantage. Can wipe out a whole field of boss monsters effortlessly. A bit slower and harder to use (as with all Flip monsters with Flip effects) in the current metagame with negates and monsters with effect protection in the game, but can still turn an entire game around in an instant. This card is Limited in the TCG.
Cyber-Stein	Can lead to easy OTKs with Fusions like Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Cyber End Dragon, or Cyber Twin Dragon equipped with Megamorph; or to an instant lockdown with Naturia Exterio or The Last Warrior from Another Planet. Can be searched easily by Gear Gigant X. However, the cost, compared to alternative options, is steep at 5000 LP, though it can be circumvented with combos like DNA Surgery/Reprodocus (calling Psychic) + Brain Research Lab/Telekinetic Charging Cell which allows unlimited usages of this efect.
Dandylion	Compulsory effect, triggered when it goes to the Graveyard by any means, which gives lots of advantage most of the time. Re-usable in many Decks. Produces Tokens for fast Synchro and Link Summoning.
Destiny HERO - Celestial	Mainly banned in Master Duel due to being used as part of the Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer package which would Summon said Fusion Monster using this card from the hand or Deck with Fusion Destiny. This card has a strong GY effect of drawing 2 cards. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and TCG.
Djinn Releaser of Rituals	Prevents your opponent from Special Summoning when used for a Ritual Summon, and can be banished from the Graveyard to be used for a Ritual Summon as well. Mainly Forbidden due to abuse in the Nekroz archetype, where it was mainly used to Ritual Summon Nekroz of Clausolas, which can search Nekroz Cycle by its own effect, which can then Ritual Summon Clausolas from the Graveyard by using Djinn. Can be searched with Armageddon Knight, Lavalval Chain (Forbidden) and Tour Guide from the Underworld (Limited). This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Eclipse Wyvern	Banishes a Level 7 or higher Dragon from the Deck when sent to the Graveyard, and recovers that monster when banished. No once-per-turn restriction on either effect. Easily Summoned by Guardragon Elpy (now Forbidden), and the banished monster (and Wyvern itself) can be recovered with Guardragon Pisty. Key to Guardragon-abusing Decks. With the advent of the Bystial archetype, it is very unlikely for this card to come back into the game.
Elder Entity Norden	Powerful and generic Fusion Monster that can revive any Level 4 or lower monster from your Graveyard on summon, for easy Rank 4 Xyz Summons or Synchro Summons with Instant Fusion, or can be used with Super Polymerization to fuse two of your opponent's Synchro or Xyz Monsters to make this card. Can be Summoned multiple times with Re-Fusion and Fusion Gate for OTKs and even FTKs. Enables draw loops when combined with Zoodiac Xyz Monsters, Fusion Substitute, Lunalight Black Sheep, and Daigusto Emeral (Limited in the TCG).
Eva	A Fairy monster which was notable for providing Drytron-Herald strategies with Fairy monsters in hand, usually Herald of Orange Light and Diviner of the Herald to use the former's effect or the effect of Herald of Ultimateness. This card is Limited in the OCG and is Unlimited in Master Duel.
Fairy Tail - Snow	Sets an opponent's monster when it is Normal or Special Summoned, and can be Special Summoned during either player's turn by banishing 7 other cards from your Graveyard, field, or hand, which is abusable in Infernoid or Lightsworn Decks since they can easily get lots of cards into the Graveyard. Can even be used multiple times per turn. Combos well with That Grass Looks Greener for this very reason - banish what you don't need anymore, and use Snow as material again and again, shutting down Effect Monsters in the process and any non-Counter Trap disruptions that may try to prevent this effect from going off. The advent of Links was mixed for Snow. On one hand, Link monsters can't be Set, which'd render her effect useless in scenarios where the opponent's board consists of them exclusively. But on the other, the overall ubiquity of their Material requirements made it even easier to have her hit the GY in prep for her revival effect, further increasing its potency. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Fiber Jar	Even though it's slower and harder to pull off than it once was, it resets almost everything," even putting itself back into the Deck when flipped. This promoted stalling tactics which challenged the restricted time-limit of real-life games.
Fishborg Blaster	An infinitely-reusable Tuner, although restricted to being coupled with only WATER non-Tuner monsters. Can cause easy OTKs when used with cards such as Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth. Broken with Formula Synchron and T.G. Hyper Librarian. Fishborg Launcher was designed to replace this card. With the release of Atlanteans, this card would create even more powerful combos and loops if it were to be unbanned.
Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition	In the OCG, this card's original burn effect calls for the current ATK on the field instead of the original ATK when determining how much damage to inflict, so FTKs become highly viable with this card by simply increasing the ATK of your own monsters. Initially, this was done with Number 95: Galaxy-Eyes Dark Matter Dragon (also Forbidden) and the ATK-doubling card of choice, which led to 95's ban. Since then, many more ways to get a monster to 8000+ ATK were found, forcing this card's OCG ban. This card is Unlimited in the TCG (since its different text specifies original ATK instead).
Glow-Up Bulb	Easily recyclable once-per-Duel through its own effect, allowing it to work as material for 2 separate Synchro, Xyz, or Link Summons as desired. Self-mills as well as reviving. Can be used in the classic Plant Synchro engine, in Extra Link turbo, and was also used in Future Fusion OTK Decks (though that's no longer as fast due to Future Fusion's errata). No sense in just Limiting it, as no one would run more than 1 anyway. This card is Limited in the OCG.
Grinder Golem	A powerful asset to Link-spamming Decks, as the Tokens it Summons (not restricted to once-per-turn, all for the mere requirement of 1 opponent's Main Monster Zone and the turns' Normal Summons'/Sets') can bring out monsters of high Link Ratings rather quickly, including Firewall Dragon (prior to its erratum) and Saryuja Skull Dread(Limited in the OCG) with all of its effects. When used in combination with Linkuriboh, Akashic Magician, and Security Dragon, it can be looped rather quickly, and essentially make it a de facto Link-4 by itself. This card is Limited in the OCG.
Guardragon Agarpain	Key to the broken Guardragon combo that was topping. Pulls a powerful Dragon monster straight from the Extra Deck without any cost, which gives easy access to the likes of Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss, Crystal Wing, Borrelsword, etc. Can be Link Summoned with little effort using a variety of generic combos involving Dragons.
Guardragon Elpy	Key to the broken Guardragon Dragon Link combos. Pulls an important Dragon monster straight from Deck without any cost, like Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon. Can be Link Summoned with little effort using a variety of generic combos involving Dragons.
Heavymetalfoes Electrumite	Generic Link Monster with superb effects for Pendulum Decks, especially Pendulum Magicians. Its effects can all play off each other. Quickly brings key Pendulum Monsters straight into play, including Double Iris Magician and Astrograph Sorcerer (the latter currently Limited), both of which can allow serious power plays. Also capable of looping Astrograph. This card is Limited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Hot Red Dragon Archfiend King Calamity	When Synchro Summoned, it prevents the opponent from activating cards or effects for the rest of the turn. With the release of "Centur-Ion", these Decks were able to consistently Synchro Summon into this card during the opponent's turn with "Crimson Dragon" and another easy-to-Summon Level 12 Synchro Monster, easily locking the opponent out of the game. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Ib the World Chalice Justiciar	Integral combo piece to the Guardragon engine which was abused a lot in Dragon Link strategies. This card is Limited in the TCG and is Semi-Limited in the OCG.
Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights	Generic Link Monster with superb effects for a variety of Warrior-based deck strategies historically, including Noble Knight itself. Searches a Warrior monster upon Link Summon, then can send Equip Spells from the Deck to the GY to Special Summon any Warrior monster from the Deck. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Kashtira Arise-Heart	Kashtira's boss monster with a Macro Cosmos-like effect, easily supplementing this card's materials. It can banish a card on the field face-down as a Quick Effect (thus proccing Kashtira Shangri-Ira's to block another Main Monster or Spell & Trap Zone), making it difficult to deal with and is one of the main reasons for Kashtira's dominance in the metagame. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Kashtira Fenrir	An important Kashtira monster which could search a Kashtira monster once per turn (including another copy of itself), allowing the deck to gradually swarm with enough Level 7 monsters to commence their Xyz plays in Kashtira decks. This card was also strong as a generic staple outside of Kashtira strategies, which could make use of its banish face-down removal effect for disruption or getting rid of problematic cards. This card is Unlimited in the TCG and is Limited in Master Duel.
Knightmare Goblin	Key card to a Knightmare lockdown. Generates advantage with its draw and Normal Summon. An Extra Link with this card (along with Mermaid (also Forbidden in the OCG), Cerberus, and Phoenix) locks the opponent out from using the Extra Deck at all and makes all Links involved untargetable by card effects, which can prevent the opponent from playing at all. Add Tri-Gate Wizard for additional "fun".
Knightmare Mermaid	Grants an easy Summon from the Deck, which instantly starts a Link ladder. Used heavily in Decks that use the "Orcust Combo", where Orcustrated Babel is used to activate the self-banishing effects of the Main Deck Orcusts' to Summon an Orcust Knightmare at the end of an opponent's turn, which is then used as Link Summon it, which'd presumably allow the Special Summon of a subsequentOrcust Knightmare, which could then climb into Galatea, the Orcust Automaton, ending in a board of 4 disruptions from a 2-card combo, and easy access to Orcust Crescendo for further negation. The key factor in the aforementioned combos' brokenness is the Main Deck Orcusts' effects only restrict their owner's Special Summons to DARK monsters AFTER they resolve, meaning most players can gain insane levels of advantage, provided they have both Orcustrated Babel, and the right combination of Orcusts in their hand, Deck and/or GY.
Lavalval Chain	Can easily be Xyz Summoned in Rank 4 Xyz Decks, and sends any card from your Deck to the Graveyard or stacks any monster in your Deck on the top. Mainly hit for causing loops and OTKs due to its lack of an once-per-turn restriction between multiple Lavalval Chains, or possibly to pre-emptively hit the Clownblade Deck that was topping in the OCG.
Level Eater	A searchable Level 1 monster that can revive itself any number of times per turn so long as you have a Level 5 or higher monster on your field. While it was always a popular Tool in Synchro Decks, it was barely relevant until DARK Synchro Decks with more Tuner Synchro Monsters abused this card for combos that can banish the opponent's entire hand in one turn with PSY-Framelord Omega (Limited in the OCG) or Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier, Summon two Shooting Quasar Dragons in one turn, as well as acting like near-infinite revival fodder. Can be used in Knightmare Decks to lock down the opponent very early on.
Linkuriboh	A Link 1 Link Monster which saw prominent usage in the Snake-Eye/Sinful Spoils strategy, where it could be made by using any of the Level 1 Snake-Eye monsters, then it could be revived by tributing any of them as a Quick Effect, which made it useful for dodging targeted disruptions. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
M-X-Saber Invoker	Generic Xyz Materials, and brings out more quick and easy materials with its effect. Summoning it is made much easier with cards such as Speedroid Terrortop (Limited in the TCG), Psychic Wheeleder/Tracker, Marauding Captain... Abused in both Zoodiac and Gouki/Knightmare Decks, as their monsters are EARTH Beast-Warriors or Warriors, to generate Xyz or Link Material. Can search Amazoness Archer to make an easier FTK. This card is Limited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Magical Scientist	Pulls a Fusion Monster directly from the Extra Deck for only 1000 LP. Was initially hit due to its role in the Catapult Turtle FTK, but Turtle's errata patched that out. Can also be used to quickly Summon multiple Synchro, Xyz and Link Monsters by using the monsters it Summons as material. LP cost can be circumvented with DNA Surgery (calling Psychic) combined with Brain Research Lab or Telekinetic Charging Cell, removing whatever limitation the card had and resulting in virtually unbreakable fields filled with Extra Deck powerhouses. Can be searched by Where Arf Thou? and some of the Prophecy/Spellbook cards.
Mathmech Circular	A strong starter of the Mathmech Cyberse-swarming strategy, usually facilitated by sending Mathmech Sigma. This card is Limited in the OCG and is Unlimited in Master Duel.
Majespecter Unicorn - Kirin	Splashable Pendulum Monster with a good effect. Can return one card from both player's fields back to the hand during either player's turn, allowing you to reuse certain cards again on your turn, or disrupt important plays during your opponent's. Like most other Majespecter monsters, it is also immune to being targeted or destroyed by the opponent's card effects, making it hard to remove outside of battle. This card is Limited in the TCG.
Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King	Powerful boss monster that can easily be Tribute Summoned by Tributing Continuous Spell/Trap Cards as well as monsters, and is unaffected by effects of cards that have the same card type as the cards Tributed for its Summon. This often results in it being vulnerable to just 1 in particular, which you may not have easy access to at that point in the Duel. Can also destroy any other card on the field during either player's turn by banishing a Continuous Spell/Trap from your Graveyard, disrupting plays during your opponent's turn and clearing the way for OTKs. Dragonic Diagram can easily search this card, and can also potentially save this card from being destroyed in one battle per turn, making it very difficult to get rid of.
Maxx "C"	Very effective handtrap at countering Decks that Special Summon constantly, allowing you to draw 1 card every time they do. When chained to an opponent's effect that can/will Special Summon, you'll lose no hand advantage. You'll gain further pluses if they decide to swarm anyway, or prematurely end their turn without performing a lot of Special Summons, leaving themselves open to a retaliatory OTK. Can also be searched by Retaliating "C", another handtrap. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Mecha Phantom Beast Auroradon	Used alongside with Crystron Halqifibrax as part of powerful Synchro strategies. Its effect is typically used to bring out Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion (formerly made Forbidden). This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Mind Master	Very similar to Substitoad (who is also Forbidden), except you pay 800 LP each time (or you can use 1 more card to bypass it). Creates many OTKs/FTKs, including an attacking OTK with Reinforced Human Psychic Borg and many deep draw FTKs with Caam, Serenity of Gusto. Can be searched by Emergency Teleport and One for One.
Number 16: Shock Master	Creates an immediate lock/OTK and can ruin an entire Deck, depending on what type of card they use most. Easily Summoned in the first turn in most Rank 4 Xyz Decks. Can outright win games if played alongside other lockdown cards.
Number 42: Galaxy Tomahawk	Special Summons Tokens en masse to the field, essentially allowing for a free Link-4 or multiple smaller Links. Allows the player to set up Extra Links and lockdown fields. Rank 7 is not a difficult Rank to make, so it is Summoned easily. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Number 86: Heroic Champion - Rhongomyniad	Powerful lockdown card with several possible Turn 1 combos to Summon it (via Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights or Numbers Eveil), and hence, various Warrior engines such as Goukis) that require very little hand luck. The major threats include its combo with Number 75: Bamboozling Gossip Shadow, which can attach itself and all of its materials to Rhongo with its own effect, and Sales Ban, which prevented this card from activating its mandatory effect to detach one of its materials. With 4+ materials, it locks the opponent out of Normal or Special Summoning for 2 whole turns, which is devastating with very few, highly situational outs even in the current card pool, and as such, the "Rhongo Bongo" Deck, which focuses on turboing this out, came into power.
Number 89: Diablosis the Mind Hacker	A Rank 7 Xyz Monster whose effects are centered around banishing cards face-down, which synergized extremely well with the Kashtira archetype. It was particularly problematic when this card can banish an important one-of card from an opponent's Extra Deck, forcing them to play at least 2 copies of each of their key strategy's monsters. It could also proc the effect of Kashtira Shangri-Ira to lock an opponent out of using their Main Monster and Spell/Trap Zones, twice (one from its Extra Deck banishing effect and the second from its banish from the deck effect). This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Number 95: Galaxy-Eyes Dark Matter Dragon	When it is Xyz Summoned, it dumps whatever 3 Dragon monsters you want in the Graveyard (as cost) and forces your opponent to banish 3 monsters from their Deck. Fairly easy to bring out despite being the awkward Rank 9, as it can be overlaid on any Rank 8 Galaxy-Eyes. Can cause OTKs with Dragon Rulers. Can set up an Extra Deck lockdown by dumping Amorphage Goliath and using it alongside Arkbrave Dragon. Banned for its role in a FTK involving Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition; this was thought of as OCG-only (since Gandora-X's damage depends on current ATK in that format), but an alternate combo was found that involved halving the opponent's LP first, and then Gandora-X would destroy this card. This resulted in its TCG ban.
Outer Entity Azathot	A generic Xyz Monster that locks opponents out of monster effects for the entire turn, which circumvents a great number of control and anti-OTK options. Effect is clearly designed with its use in the Entity deck in mind, but doesn't take into account its splashability into any Deck that can make Rank 4 or 5, including tellarknights, The Phantom Knights, etc. Could be made during the opponent's turn using The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Launch (Forbidden in the TCG) with the Rank 4 Time Thief Redoer, which could shut down an opponent's entire turn.
Prank-Kids Meow-Meow-Mu	Key card of the Prank-Kids strategy, used as the starter by using one of any of their Main Deck Prank-Kids monsters to Link Summon this card which then procced those monsters' effects to swarm more Prank-Kids monsters from the Deck and Link-climb into stronger monsters, whilst proccing their effects. This card banishing itsef to substitute Prank-Kids monsters Tributing itself also enabled Prank-Kids Battle Butler to effectively use its Quick Effect of destroying all of the opponent's monsters they control twice. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Performage Plushfire	Too abusable. This card effect to spawn any Performage monster from your hand or Deck whenever it is destroyed has no restriction limiting the number of uses of said effect, and is easily recyclable by being a Pendulum Monster. Combos well with Wavering Eyes, Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer, and Luster Pendulum, the Dracoslayer (Limited in the OCG).
Phantasmal Lord Ultimitl Bishbaalkin	Banned in Master Duel due to its use in various FTK strategies with this basic premise: flood the field with Tokens, give control of this card to the opponent, make "Number 33: Chronomaly Machu Mech", and use its effect. Several other possible FTK strategies including a "Bishbaalkin" to your opponent also exist. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and TCG.
Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis	Part of an FTK loop involving Topologic Bomber Dragon where, if you could dump enough Plants into the Graveyard (using cards such as Lonefire Blossom and Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio), you could revive and destroy it again and again to inflict massive damage to your opponent.
Predaplant Verte Anaconda	Broken Link 2 monster with simple materials and is abused for its effect to copy Fusion/Polymerization Spells from the Deck, particularly those Fusion/Polymerization Spells whose effect allows them to send monsters from the Deck to the GY. The most notable examples were using Red-Eyes Fusion to Summon Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon (which gets around the condition of Red-Eyes Fusion that prevent the player from Normal or Special Summoning other monsters) and Fusion Destiny to Summon Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer. This card is Limited in Master Duel.
Ronintoadin	An Aqua monster that was once involved with the Frog Burn FTK which got Substitoad Forbidden (below). Was banned in the TCG due to its new utility in Spright decks to summon Toadally Awesome (below). This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Spright Elf	Key card of Spright strategies. Can Summon back a Level/Rank/Link 2 monster during the Main Phase as a Quick Effect. In particular, this card can recur Toadally Awesome (Forbidden in the OCG) to potentially get its omni-negate effect off a second time. This card is Unlimited in Master Duel
SPYRAL Master Plan	Key card of the SPYRAL archetype which could search a SPYRAL MISSION card while on the field and it could also search the highly valuable SPYRAL Resort and a SPYRAL monster when sent from the field to the GY. The former search had no once-per turn. This card was a major contributing factor to the dominance of SPYRAL strategies in the metagame, even more so with the release of Magicians' Souls which interacted very well with this card. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Substitoad	Poorly-designed card, able to mill most of your Deck in one turn. No once-per-turn restriction. It is the center piece of the Frog Burn FTK strategy. Tradetoad was designed to be a fair version of it. This card is Limited in the TCG because Ronintoadin (above) is banned in the TCG, though even without Ronintoadin, this card can still cause OTK's/FTK's with Witch Doctor of Sparta.
Summon Sorceress	Extremely powerful. Allows the searching of cards that can't normally be searched, and can set-up mass Link Summons with a view to an Extra Link, especially in conjuction with Firewall Dragon and/or Crystron Halqifibrax. Also sets up various FTKs by pulling out just the card you need (usually one of the Cannon Soldier-type burn cards) straight from the Deck. Your opponent gaining a card doesn't matter, as they'll never get to use it. Highly abusable in ABCs. This card is Unlimited in the OCG per a functional erratum in 2024.
Superheavy Samurai Scarecrow	Can revive Superheavy Samurai monsters from the GY and is usually made by using Superheavy Samurai Soulpiercer or a monster equipped with Soulpiercer as the material, proccing its effect to search any Superheavy Samurai monster. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and in Master Duel.
Superheavy Samurai Soulbreaker Armor	Forbidden due to a FTK Superheavy Samurai strategy that involved this card's burn effect. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Supreme King Dragon Starving Venom	Easily Summonable by Contact Fusion in Pendulum Decks. Its effect to gain the effects of a monster in the Graveyard allows it to mimic Lyrilusc - Independent Nightingale, which until the End Phase makes it gain 4000 ATK (for a total of 6800), become unaffected by any other card effect, and enables it to inflict 4000 damage to your opponent once per turn. This guarantees an OTK or even an FTK if you can bring out 2, which is trivial in Pendulum Magician builds. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and is Limited in Master Duel.
Tearlaments Kitkallos	Easily Summonable in a Tearlaments deck. It can continuously mill cards from the deck with each of its effects and proc additional Tearlaments' monster effects for further Fusion Summons. Also serves as a Fusion Material for the disruptive Tearlaments Rulkallos. This card is Limited in Master Duel.
Tearlaments Merrli	Part of the dominant Tearlaments Ishizu deck, this card procs a mill upon its Normal or Special Summon, potentially proccing Tearlaments' monster effects for further Fusion Summons (which this card also shares the Fusion Summon effect). It being a Level 2 monster also gives it utility with Spright Elf, which can then revive this card to proc this card's mill effect during the opponet's turn. Forbidden in Master Duel to stop the Deck's dominance. This card is Limited in the OCG and TCG.
The Tyrant Neptune	High-Level monster that can copy the name and effects of a monster in the GY that was Tributed for this card's Tribute Summon. Was Forbidden because of an OTK with Lyrilusc - Independent Nightingale (which is easily Summoned by Instant Fusion), where this card copies Nightingale's effect, which gives it 6000 ATK (5000 with its effect + 1000 from Nightingale itself), makes it unaffected by any other card effect, and enables it to inflict 5000 damage to your opponent once per turn, guaranteeing an OTK if it survives your opponent's turn. Differently from most other effect-copying monsters, Neptune does so permanently, making it particularly difficult to remove due to said immunity and an absurd ATK of 6000. Nothing that Crystal Wing or Kaijus can't handle, but it's still terrifying to go up against otherwise. Can also be searched by King of the Feral Imps.
Toadally Awesome	Strong Rank 2 Xyz Monster with many good effects. Can Special Summon a Frog monster from your Deck by detaching a material during either player's Standby Phase, can negate any opponent's card by sending an Aqua monster from your hand or field (even itself) to the Graveyard AND set that negated card to your field, and can recycle any WATER monster from your Graveyard (even itself) when it's sent to the Graveyard. Mainly hit due to Paleozoic Decks that were topping frequently due to this card in the OCG. Can also be splashed in some Rank 4 Decks that can Xyz Summon Bahamut Shark. It would later be a problem in the recent Spright strategies. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Topologic Gumblar Dragon	Powerful, generic hand-destroying colossus. While in the Extra Monster Zone, punishes your opponent for Special Summoning. Extra Linking with this card is not hard, considering the existence of various cards like Knightmares, and this unlocks an effect which allows for costless hand destruction and devastating burn, effectively allowing you to stun your opponent and burn them to death.
True King of All Calamities	Strong Rank 9 Xyz Monster whose Quick Effect of preventing the opponent's monsters of a declared Attribute from activating their effects all attack whilst changing the Attributes of all face-up monsters on the field to that declared Attribute. The card became more easily accessible with the introduction of the Virtual World archetype, which can easily summon Level 9 monsters.
Victory Dragon	Was Forbidden on principle due to being able to interact with something outside the current Duel. Since victory conditions don't count as effects, cards like Skill Drain and Forbidden Chalice are useless against it. In tournaments, an opponent could surrender or intentionally try to receive a Game Loss penalty in an attempt to lose only the Duel instead of lose the entire Match with this card's victory condition. Led to judge declarations involving "unsportsmanlike conduct" and major ruling hassles during the time it was playable.
Wandering Gryphon Rider	A part of the Adventurer Token engine (used alongside Rite of Aramesir, Water Enchantress of the Temple and Fateful Adventure). This card has an omni-negate Quick Effect, allowing it to fend off a hand trap that can stop its user plays. Was banned in the OCG to stop the usage of this Adventurer Token engine package in decks. This card is Unlimited in the TCG and Master Duel.
Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity	Very easy to Summon in Wind-Up Decks. Starts up and creates nasty loops such as the infamous Wind-Up Hand Loop. Takes any 2 Level 3 monsters to Summon, rather than being archetype-specific. Summoning it pretty much meant you would swarm. This card is Unlimited in the OCG because Wind-Up Hunter (below) is Forbidden there.
Wind-Up Hunter	Key card of the infamous Wind-Up Hand Loop along with Wind-Up Rat and Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity (which is Forbidden in the TCG), with this card having the hand removal effect. Can be searched by Fire Formation - Tenki and most of the Wind-Up cards. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Zoodiac Broadbull	Generic 2-material Rank 4 Xyz Monster that can also easily be Summoned by using any other Zoodiac monster you control as material. Can search any Beast-Warrior monster that can be Normal Summoned by detaching a material, including other Zoodiac monsters (mainly Whiptail, which can then attach itself to this card to give it 1200 ATK and banish any monster it battles), but it can also search Pendulums, Fire Fists, Bujins, Gladiator Beasts, Koa'ki Meiru, and others; basically like Fire Formation - Tenki.
Zoodiac Drident	Strong Rank 4 Xyz Monster that can easily be Summoned by using any other Zoodiac monster you control as material, including other Zoodiac Xyz Monsters such as Chakanine or Broadbull (also Forbidden), which only require any 2 Level 4 monsters. Can destroy any face-up card on the field during either player's turn, clearing the way for OTKs or allowing disruption during your opponent's turn. Mainly hit due to Zoodiac Decks consistently dominating the metagame for many months, past their initial release and upon the release of Tri-Brigade. This card is Unlimited in Master Duel.
Brilliant Fusion	An FTK generator and engine all in one card. Most often used to bring out Gem-Knight Seraphinite using only monsters from the Deck. The user gets an extra Normal Summon for whatever they desire, an extra LIGHT body (such as Performage Trick Clown or Fairy Tail - Snow) that can be used alongside Seraphinite as Link Material. Previously used in the Gem-Knight FTK involving Master Diamond (Limited in the TCG). Works strongly with Thunder Dragons. This card is Limited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Butterfly Dagger - Elma	Creates infinite loops with Gearfried the Iron Knight, such as drawing an unlimited number of cards with Royal Magical Library (which can either lead to drawing the pieces of Exodia or dealing massive damage with Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End) or gaining an unlimited number of LP with Spell Absorption (which can then lead to an infinite burn loop with Fire Princess), etc. Also insanely abusable in Inzektors.
Card of Safe Return	Many Decks rely on Graveyard manipulation (such as Zombies, Wind-Up, Fabled, Dark World, Infernoid, etc.); this card can easily generate extremely high draw power when used with them. No once-per-turn restriction means that several cards that Special Summon themselves (e.g. Colossal Fighter) can lead to infinite loops, with such results as drawing all five Forbidden One pieces in a single turn.
Cold Wave	Disables ALL Spell and Trap usage for a fairly long time, which allows preparations for an OTK and can leave the opponent vulnerable and unable to defend themselves if you wipe out their backrow. Incredibly hard to fight against if the opponent is using a Deck that focuses on monster effects rather than Spells or Traps. Cold Feet was intended to be a fair(ly bad) version of this card.
Confiscation	Devastating 1-for-1 card with a low cost. Allows a player to see an opponent's entire hand (letting them know what Deck they may be playing and what strategies they may use next) and freely get rid of their presumably best or most useful card. Appointer of the Red Lotus was designed to be a fair version of this card.
Delinquent Duo	Very powerful 2-for-1 card with a low cost. Discards 2 cards from your opponent's hand, and they have no control over one of the cards they lose. Especially devastating when the opponent has only a few cards left.
Dimension Fusion	Too many good combos. Was abused with Dark Armed Dragon to clear the opponent's field and swarm your own, forming an OTK. With more and more Decks relying on banished monsters, this can't come back. Like Cyber-Stein, the outcome is worth the high cost.
Divine Sword - Phoenix Blade	Has no turn restriction on its recovery effect. Used in most Decks that use Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights, which can dump it into the Graveyard with its Warrior-Summoning effect, and proper Graveyard set-up allows it to be recovered again and again for discard fodder. Used in Gouki Decks to make Topologic Gumblar Dragon in Turn 1 and create devastating hand loops. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Giant Trunade	Clears backrow and prepares for OTKs. Harder to stop than Heavy Storm (which is also Forbidden) because it doesn't destroy. Mainly banned for it allowing to recycle and reuse your Spell/Trap Cards with effects that can only be used a limited amount of times while they are on the field. This is notably the reason that effects that consistently bounce your own Spells/Traps are very rare. Hey, Trunade! was designed to be a fair version of this card.
Graceful Charity	Too broken. You draw before you discard. Sets up Graveyard. Although it seems like an even trade, it is often better than Pot of Greed in Decks that like to discard or utilize their Graveyard for even more advantage.
Heavy Storm	This on the going second player's first turn is usually catastrophic for the opponent, and not everyone runs Starlight Road or THRIO. Can even benefit you by clearing up useless space including unneeded "floodgates", destroying your own Pendulum Scales so you can trigger their effects, activate more, then Pendulum Summon them back for OTKs, though New Master Rule makes this far trickier to pull off now. This card is Limited in the OCG.
Instant Fusion	Instantly Fusion Summons any Level 5 or lower Fusion Monster from your extra Deck for easy Synchro or Xyz Summons. Although it was initially Limited due to a two-card FTK involving this card and Elder Entity Norden (now Forbidden), this came off the list. It would however became Limited once more simply due to the number of useful Fusion Monsters available in the current game that can be used to facilitate materials for Link Summons as well. In Master Duel, this card was banned in anticipation of Tearlaments. This card is Limited in the OCG and TCG.
Kaiser Colosseum	Powerful and splashable floodgate that prevents your opponent from Summoning more monsters than you control. Unlike other common floodgate cards, it does not have to be set before activation since it is a Spell, and only directly affects your opponent. Can stop the opponent from being able to play at all if you have just 1 very powerful boss monster like Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King (Forbidden in the OCG) or Majespecter Unicorn - Kirin (also Forbidden; see above). This card is Semi-Limited in the OCG and is Limited in Master Duel.
Last Will	Universal searcher. Mainly was Forbidden for making the extremely fast Turtle FTK; however, Catapult Turtle's errata now makes its effect once per turn. While this card can only Special Summon 1 monster with its effect, it could set up OTKs with Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End (although no longer, due to its erratum) or Black Rose Dragon. After activation, its effect can be used any time that turn, even during the Battle Phase.
Mass Driver	Abused in many Decks to form a FTK, since it does not use up the Normal Summon and can be used multiple times a turn. Finishing move.
Metamorphosis	Was a key part of the Goat Control Deck and has too many good combos. Notable ones include Beast King Barbaros → Cyber Twin Dragon/Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird and Metal Reflect Slime/Tragoedia/REDMD → Cyber End Dragon/Destiny End Dragoon/Gaia Drake, the Universal Force/Naturia Exterio. With the introduction of more powerful and easily Summonable Fusion Monsters and the ease of Summooning high-Level monsters in the modern decks, this card is much less likely to come back.
Mirage of Nightmare	It can be as good as, if not better than, Pot of Greed seeing that most combo centric decks will typically end with very few-none cards on hand at the end of their first turn. The drawn cards can end up being hand traps which further disrupt their opponent on top of their already impressive endboard. Can be removed with Emergency Provisions, Solomon's Lawbook, Gravelstorm, and MST extremely well to avoid the discard effect during the user's next turn. Devastating in Dark World and Fabled Decks.
Mystic Mine	A Field Spell (easily searched) that causes easy lockdowns. Monster effects are vital in the current game, so being locked out of them is devastating. Can cripple your opponent if you control no monsters, and the only counters your opponent has are either to remove it (harder to get to removal if monster effects are out of the question) or to control no monsters which leaves them a sitting duck to be OTK'd next turn. Both players will also be likely to pass turns without doing anything and cause the player with less cards to lose via Deck out since this card also locks out monsters from attacking. Can be activated straight from the Deck during your opponent's turn by Metaverse.
Painful Choice	Gets a good card and/or sends cards that work well in the Graveyard; similar to activating 4 Foolish Burials at once. Instant Graveyard setup for Decks like Plants, Infernity, Dragon Rulers, Zombies, and Chaos Dragons to name a few. With more and more cards that gain advantage when sent to the Graveyard, this card becomes even more powerful.
Pot of Greed	Instantly gives +1 in card advantage to the user for absolutely no cost. Too easy to use (literally every Deck in the game would be improved by adding this card to it). Forcing all competent Decks to run this card to avoid being at a disadvantage would be unfair. Fair versions of this card are constantly being made.
Premature Burial	Fast revival. Formerly looped with Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier (though Brionac has now been errata'd so it can't bounce your own cards) and Giant Trunade, which is also Forbidden. There are also combos that allow 1 Special Summon per turn through cards like Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier, Falcon of Mist Valley, etc. Searchable and reusable via Hidden Armory. Overdone Burial was designed to be a fair version of this card.
Set Rotation	Likely hit due to a loophole involving Field Spells such as Gateway to Chaos and Oracle of Zefra, whose archetype-locked search-on-activation effecs are mandatory, therefore preventing their activation in the very likely case the opponent has nothing to search. This means it secures your Field Spell AND locks your opponent's for free, with the only way out for them being using backrow self-removal, which can be a hard hit to recover for some Decks whose Field Spells are vital in getting them going. This card is Limited in the OCG and TCG.
Smoke Grenade of the Thief	Another hand-ripping card like Confiscation. Was abused in Infernoble Knight strategies, which could easily search this and proc its hand-rip effect.
Snatch Steal	Gives near permanent control. Opponent's LP gain can be avoided entirely by either stealing a strong monster and consistently attacking, or using it as material/Tribute. Searchable and reusable via Hidden Armory. Almost as, if not more powerful than, Change of Heart (see above). This card is Limited in the TCG.
Soul Charge	Revives any number of monsters from your Graveyard for easy Synchro/Xyz/Link Summons in almost every Deck. While it has an LP loss correlative to the number of revived monsters (if you're reviving fewer monsters, you lose less LP, if you're reviving more monsters, you lose more LP), and isn't a cost you can dodge with other cards, these restrictions are usually offset by the large field advantage offered. Forces you to skip Battle Phase, but is often used on the first turn, so the player isn't affected. Has only grown more powerful with the onset of Links, with this being an extraordinarily easy Extra Link with a few of the right cards in your Graveyard.
That Grass Looks Greener	Powerful, costless Graveyard set-up card that instantly sends cards from your Deck to the Graveyard until you have the same number of cards in your Deck as your opponent. Similar to Monster Gate and Reasoning (both Limited), but can be better since there is more control over the number of milled cards. Mainly hit due to abuse in 60-card Decks that focus heavily on Infernoids, Paleozoics, and Fairy Tail - Snow (also Forbidden in the TCG) since it can instantly send 20 cards from your Deck to your Graveyard against most other Decks that run only 40 cards. In addition to having to ask the opponent how many cards were left in their deck, this card warped deck-building plans in the metagame where most decks also played 60 cards (without this card) just to counter the Decks that could take full advantage of this card. Can be searched by Left Arm Offering. This card is Semi-Limited in the OCG and is Limited in Master Duel.
Terraforming	Searches any Field Spell. It's especially useful to grab an ever-growing number of powerful Field Spells early in the game, such as Divine Wind of Mist Valley, Dragonic Diagram (Forbidden in the OCG), Chicken Game (Forbidden in the TCG), and Union Hangar, though it can become a dead draw otherwise. This card is Limited in the OCG and TCG.
The Forceful Sentry	A Confiscation (above) with no cost. Returns the card to the Deck rather than discarding it to the Graveyard. Having a card in the Graveyard is usually considered to be better that having it in the Deck. The Humble Sentry was intended to be a fair(ly bad) version of this card.
Zoodiac Barrage	Can Special Summon any Zoodiac monster from your Deck by destroying ANY face-up card you control, even itself, Fire Formation - Tenki, or Tensu after they've been used, and can also attach itself to a Zoodiac Xyz Monster if it is destroyed, even by its own effect. Banned in the Tier 0 Zoodiac format, partly due to being an easy material in general that works well with any card that triggers on being destroyed. This card is Limited in the OCG and is Unlimited in Master Duel.
Appointer of the Red Lotus	A Normal Trap that can enable its user to look at their opponent's hand, and temporarily banish one card from their hand. Similar to Confiscation and Trap Dustshoot, this card can give useful information about the opponent's hand and can snipe out the opponent's lone key starter or board breaker, giving the first-turn player a more oppressive advantage. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Branded Expulsion	A Branded Normal Trap that Special Summons two monsters in the GY or are banished, one to each player's field. It can give the opponent detrimental monsters that prevent them from doing an action(s), such as locking them out from Summoning by giving them Gimmick Puppet Nightmare, Ido the Supreme Magical Force or Ra's Disciple etc. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Imperial Order	Powerful Spell lock via a Continuous Effect, unlike others that start a chain. This card alone can shut down Decks as most of them are dependent on their Spell effects to play. Would commonly be used alongside heavy Trap stun strategies to lock the oponent from playing. This card's effect meant it could overcome one of its counters (that being the majority of Spell/Trap removal cards being Spells). Even after its functional erratum (where the 700 LP cost occurs during both player's Standby Phases, and it is mandatory, preventing you from turning it off at will during your own Standby Phase), it didn't hamper its original utility of simply shutting down Spells in the first place which this card's user won't be hindered.
Last Turn	Turns around the game with little to no effort. Overwhelmingly flexible with various Decks and monsters. An instant win is guaranteed when you control a monster that prevents your opponent from Special Summoning OR can create an instant DRAW. Easy to get down to 1000 or less LP with cards like Wall of Revealing Light, Inspection, and Backs to the Wall.
Life Equalizer	This card forms OTKs with cards such as Magical Explosion (also Forbidden in the OCG) and Blasting the Ruins, and its apparently steep requirement can easily be met with cards such as Chicken Game (Forbidden in the TCG), Upstart Goblin, and Wall of Revealing Light. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Magical Explosion	Crux of the Magical Explosion FTK. Simply requires you to dump Spells in your Graveyard and empty your hand (not a challenge in several Deck types) to be deadly, especially with more than one available. Was initially Limited to cripple the consistency of the FTK, then Forbidden many years later in the OCG after abuse in Sky Striker strategies. This card is Limited in the TCG.
Red Reboot	This Counter Trap Card ultimately shuts down Trap-based strategies from playing for a single turn (despite giving them an extra Trap to set directly from their Deck), and it can even be activated from the hand. This card is Limited in the OCG and is Semi-Limited in Master Duel.
Return from the Different Dimension	Similar to Dimension Fusion (above). Creates very easy OTKs, especially in Dragon Ruler Decks. Easy to prevent the monsters from being banished again since you can just Synchro/Xyz/Link Summon with them.
Royal Oppression	One card to continuously stop a large number of Special Summons and cripple a large number of Decks with a fairly low cost. Some Decks abuse the fact that it cannot be used in the Damage Step. Can stop a larger variety of cards than Solemn Warning, which has a larger cost and can only be used once. Most modern decks would like to Summon a lot of big monsters, and then flip this card, giving the other player a complete disadvantage from being essentially locked out of Summoning entirely.
Self-Destruct Button	Mainly Forbidden for causing too many DRAWs in Tournaments and messing up Ranked Games. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Sixth Sense	Potentially one of the strongest forms of draw power, being able to net 6 cards from one effect if the user is lucky. Otherwise, the drawback of milling cards instead is also potentially beneficial, especially with more Graveyard-reliant Decks. The drawing aspect can be rigged with That Six.
Summon Limit	A Continuous Trap that prevents both players from Summoning more than 2 times per turn. With the game being highly dependent on Summoning numerous times per turn to build powerful boards, this card is effective at preventing these boards before they can be established. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Time Seal	Forces the opponent to skip a Draw Phase, which is lethal when they are topdecking. Unlike Drastic Drop Off, this card can be chained anytime, making it much better; also with Mask of Darkness and Tsukuyomi at 3, lockdown Decks could take unfair advantage. This card is Limited in the OCG and TCG.
Trap Dustshoot	Devastating to the opponent if played on them during their first turn. Broken when combined with other Traps like Mind Crush. If used early on, it creates a situation where your opponent will have a lot of trouble recovering. Many thought that the opponent having to have at least 4 cards in their hand was too fair a restriction to ban it. But, it is horrible to go against in Turn 1.
Ultimate Offering	A cheap way to swarm the field, resulting in easy Xyz/Link Summons. Gadgets can spawn Rank 4s like crazy (as well as Rank 5s with Gear Gigant X and Jumbo Drill around). The effect used to be that both players could use the effect, but it was errata'd so only the controller of the card can, which gives a huge advantage. Also abusable in various other Decks such as Madolche, Blackwing (when comboed with Black Whirlwind), and Empty Jar.
Vanity's Emptiness	One card that can continuously stop a large number of cards and cripple a large number of Decks with no cost. While it is easily destroyed when another card is sent from your Deck or field to your Graveyard, this can sometimes work in the user's favor when something deliberately sends a card to your Graveyard (e.g. activating Mystical Space Typhoon on an opponent's card) so you can keep Special Summoning on your turn. The user can also just temporarily negating its effect during their turn, then keeping this card's effect active during the opponent's turn.
Limited
Archnemeses Protos	A Nemeses monster that can destroy all monsters of a declared Attribute then then prevent both players from Special Summoning monsters of that Attribute until the end of the next turn. This became a powerful winning strategy post-Game 2 in a best-of-3 match where this card's user will know what deck their opponent is playing. It also cannot be destroyed by card effects, including by its previous effect. Wasn't used until Swordsoul Decks could easily search it and Summon it out. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Ancient Fairy Dragon	Can be Summoned very quickly by Destrudo the Lost Dragon's Frisson, which then allows you to remove a Field Spell, heal, search another Field Spell, and get a free Special Summon all in one turn. This is highly abusable in Decks whose Field Spells have on-activation effects or non-HOPT effects, like Union Hangar and SPYRAL Resort. Can be looped with Recycle to pull off its Field Spell effect each turn, with a net gain of LP too. With its new functional erratum in 2023 (with both effects having a hard once per turn restriction and the searched Field Spell has to have a different name than one of the destroyed ones), the card is no longer a threat. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Astrograph Sorcerer	Key card in Pendulum Magicians that generates ludicrous advantage. When a card you control is destroyed, it can Special Summon itself from the hand and add a copy of the destroyed card from the Deck to the hand. This effect can be triggered and looped fairly easily with Heavymetalfoes Electrumite and Supreme King Dragon Starving Venom copying the effect of the former (both Forbidden in the TCG). Being Level 7, it can be used to access Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon, which provides more advantage, and brings out Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon, with its removal and negate effects, when it is sent to the Graveyard by any means.
Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal	Very good Rank 6 Xyz Monster with a fantastic effect. Can easily be Xyz Summoned in Burning Abyss Decks by using Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss (Limited in the OCG) as Xyz Material (albeit with the downside of its Quick Effect not being usable that turn), and can send any card from your Deck to the Graveyard during either player's turn, allowing you to search out Limited cards like Graff or Cir, or interrupt your opponent's plays by sending Farfa, Alich, or Mischief of the Gnomes from your Deck to the Graveyard. It can also replace itself with Dante, Pilgrim of the Burning Abyss when it dies. Even more abusable in non-Burning Abyss Decks since its Quick Effect can be used right away, and even chained to cards like Bottomless Trap Hole, Compulsory Evacuation Device, and Torrential Tribute. It can also mill Rank-Up-Magic Argent Chaos Force (Forbidden) to be added to the hand to easily Summon Number S0: Utopic ZEXAL. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Black Dragon Collapserpent	A pair of monsters with powerful complementary effects. Can be Special Summoned by banishing a LIGHT/DARK monster respectively (usually the other) from the Graveyard, and searches the other when sent to the Graveyard; notably, there is no restriction on the latter effect. Having either of these pretty much guarantees a full Guardragon combo. Also useful in Thunder Dragon decks, as they use primarily LIGHT and DARK monsters. At 1 each, the consistency is far more limited. Both cards are Unlimited in the OCG.
White Dragon Wyverburster
Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos	The Dragon Ruler series of incredibly powerful Dragon monsters, having effects making use of a monster of their Attribute or Dragon monsters (in the case of Summoning themselves from the hand or GY) and netting advantage via their unique effects. While the Dragon Rulers dominated the meta in 2013-2014, they are not considered to be strong in the current metagame due to the weak support of WIND, EARTH, FIRE and WATER in comparison to LIGHT or DARK as of the 2020s. All of them are Unlimited in Master Duel.
Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders
Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms
Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls
Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird	Very powerful Fusion Monster with a deadly burn effect. Creates easy OTKs/FTKs when used in conjunction with cards like Ancient Fairy Dragon, Black Garden, and Fusion Gate; or with Elemental HERO Electrum, Fusion Gate, and Chain Material. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Bystial Baldrake	Bystial monsters can Special Summon themselves from the hand by banishing a LIGHT or DARK monster from the GY, which function as Quick Effects if the user's opponent controls a monster, easily qualifying as disruptive hand traps in the metagame. Magnamhut can add any Dragon from the Deck or GY to the hand during the End Phase of the turn it is Special Summoned, Druiswurm and Baldrake can remove monsters from the field and Lubellion can search the other Main Deck Bystial monsters, Summon itself from the GY and place a Branded Continuous Spell/Trap (usually Branded Regained for more advantage or Branded Beast for a Quick Effect-like pop). This package proved to be a powerful addition in various strategies such as Dragon-Link and Branded. All of these Bystial monsters are Limited in the OCG, only Bystial Magnamhut is Limited in the TCG, and all but Lubellion are Limited in Master Duel.
Bystial Druiswurm
Bystial Magnamhut
The Bystial Lubellion
Chronograph Sorcerer	First monster effect is easy to trigger by destroying your own cards in a Pendulum deck, and brings out 2 monsters to do what you wish with without using the Pendulum Summon. Pendulum Effect effectively brings out a new Link Material from the Deck, and can allow another Chronograph to activate its effect too. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Daigusto Emeral	First effect can revive strong beaters or combo pieces. Second effect enables easy recursion for any Deck and can generate loops if used alongside other recyclers like Pot of Dichotomy and The Transmigration Prophecy. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Danger!? Jackalope?	An archetype of monsters that give off powerful effects when discarded by any means, not just by their own gimmick. This lead them to become a highly splashable engine in several Decks as opposed to a Deck in their own right. Their effects are largely the same, just with different results - Nessie searches another Danger!, Jackalope Special Summons another Danger! from the Deck, and Tsuchinoko Special Summons itself immediately on discard. This allows the archetype to generate Link Material particularly quickly. These cards are Unlimited in the OCG.
Danger!? Tsuchinoko?
Dark Grepher	Easily Special Summoned, so easy Link Material. Used as an alternative option to Armageddon Knight, to set up various Warrior-based engines leading to whatever powerful boss monster you desire. Better in some ways than Arma, as it doesn't eat the Normal Summon and its discard costs can be turned into advantage when using Danger! cards. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Denglong, First of the Yang Zing	Can search ANY Yang Zing card upon its Summoning (including the omni-negate Counter Trap Nine Pillars of Yang Zing), and due to the wide variety of Levels the Yang Zing monsters share, it can function as almost any necessary Tuner, while sending Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing to the Graveyard to easily activate its revival effect. In addition, if it leaves the field it Special Summons another "Yang Zing" from the Deck, extending the chain of defensive monsters or Synchro/Xyz/Link Materials. Also, unlike several other Yang Zing monsters' effects, neither effect can miss their timing, leaving few options open for the opponent to stop them from activating. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Dinowrestler Pankratops	Easily Special Summons itself to the field when your opponent has more monsters out. Easy Special Summon = easy Link Material and its beefy 2600 ATK can help beat over some endboard monsters. Also offers on-the-spot Quick Effect destruction by Tributing another Dinowrestler, which can include itself. This card is Semi-Limited in the TCG and is Unlimited in Master Duel.
Exodia the Forbidden One	Instant win card. You don't need to be lucky to get it. With more and more stall and draw cards being released and easier methods to search them, these will stay Limited.
Left Arm of the Forbidden One
Left Leg of the Forbidden One
Right Arm of the Forbidden One
Right Leg of the Forbidden One
Floowandereeze & Empen	One of the boss monsters of the Floowandereeze archetype. It could be easily searched and Tribute Summoned in a Floowandereeze deck, which upon doing so enables the search of a Floowandereeze Spell/Trap. It also prevented the effects of Special Summoned monsters in Attack Position from being activated, making Link Monsters useless. It could also half the ATK of an opponent's monster that battled with this card. The two latter effects made this card very difficult to deal with. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and TCG.
Gem-Knight Master Diamond	Can copy the effects of other Gem-Knight monsters, most importantly Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli to create a burn FTK. After the release of Gem-Knight Phantom Quartz, an FTK combo could be started with just Brilliant Fusion and any Gem-Knight monster in the starting hand. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Herald of Orange Light	A Fairy hand trap which can send itself with another Fairy monster to the GY to negate the activation of a monster effect. Was used primarily in Herald-Drytron and Ishizu strategies where in the former, it could be searched off of Eva after being sent to the GY and in the latter, this card's effect's cost procced the milling effect of Agido the Ancient Sentinel and Kelbek the Ancient Vanguard. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Kashtira Unicorn	Searches any Kashtira Spell from the Deck; the most common search choice being Kashtira Birth which can re-Summon this card after using it as material for an Extra Deck summon. In Kashtira Decks, this card would often search Kashtiratheosis which can Special Summon another Kashtira monster from the Deck, often Kashtira Fenrir for more searches. Punishes opposing monster effect activations by banishing one of the opponent's cards in their Extra Deck face-down. This card is Unlimited in the TCG and Master Duel.
Keldo the Sacred Protector	The key cards of the Ishizu-mill strategy. After being milled by Tearlaments cards, Agido the Ancient Sentinel or Kelbek the Ancient Vanguard, Keldo and Mudora can shuffle cards in the GY as Quick Effect, easily disrupting the opponent from making use of their GY. These cards paired with Tearlaments to be a very powerful metagame strategy.
Mudora the Sword Oracle
Lonefire Blossom	Search and Special Summon ANY Plant; this includes Sylvans, Tuners, Dandylion, Mystic Tomato, Tytannial, Princess of Camellias, Gigaplant, etc. Doppel-Plants and quite a few other Plant Decks were also topping tournaments for a long time. Formerly abused in Synchrocentric. Returned to the list after the rise of various different Plant FTKs in Link Format in the OCG. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Lunalight Tiger	Lunalight Pendulum Monster that can repetitively recur Lunalight bodies from the GY, particularly when paired with cards that can bounce it back to the hand such as Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Luster Pendulum, the Dracoslayer	Key card in the Dracoslayer engine. Can destroy any card in your other Pendulum Zone and search another copy of it, providing you with more resources. Can trigger the effects of cards such as Performage Plushfire (Forbidden) or Guiding Ariadne. Can be searched easily itself with Draco Face-Off, Ignister Prominence, the Blasting Dracoslayer, or Majester Paladin, the Ascending Dracoslayer. This card is Unlimited in the TCG and Master Duel.
Miscellaneousaurus	Can allow Dinosaurs to operate without fear during the Main Phase, and can also search out a vast array of useful Dinosaurs. The downside to its second effect can be worked around with cards like Babycerasaurus and Petiteranodon to cut down its banishment requirements. An instant Level 5 Synchro or Link-2 when combined with Souleating Oviraptor and Jurrac Aeolo. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master DUel.
Morphing Jar	High draw power. Messes up opponent's hand. Sets up Graveyard. However, the opponent can also abuse this. Has its own OTK/FTK Deck. Can also cause an OTK/FTK with Jackpot 7.
Performapal Monkeyboard	Key card in Performapal Decks. Can search any Level 4 or lower Performapal Monster when it is activated in the Pendulum Zone, allowing you to set up both Scales by itself to Pendulum Summon practically for free. Can be searched easily by Performapal Skullcrobat Joker, Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer, and Wavering Eyes. However, Performapal/Magician Decks have not topped since. This card is Unlimited in Master Duel.
Phantom Skyblaster	Special Summons Skyblaster Tokens when Normal or Flip Summoned up to the number of monsters you control. An instant Link-2 upon Normal Summoning, and potentially a Link-3 or -4 if you control another monster when this card is Normal Summoned. Also has a burn effect, which can be useful if trying to run down the clock. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio	Quickly introduces 2 Plant monsters into play, with the extra monster on the field allowing for a quick 1-card Fusion/Xyz/Link Summon. Dumps whatever monster you want in the Graveyard as cost. Opening move of the FTK involving Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis (Forbidden). Its main target to Summon is almost always Predaplant Darlingtonia Cobra, which searches Instant Fusion and Brilliant Fusion, setting up other FTKs (and, for good measure, providing valid material for M-X-Saber Invoker). This card is Unlimited in the TCG and is Semi-Limited in Master Duel.
PSY-Framegear Gamma	A hand trap which can Special Summon itself alongside PSY-Frame Driver to negate the activation of a monster effect. If this card's effect is used during its player's turn, the player can use the Summoned bodies for numerous Extra Deck or Tribute Summon plays while fending off the opponent's interactions including hand traps such as Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring and Maxx "C". This card is Semi-Limited in Master Duel.
PSY-Framelord Omega	Amazing Level 8 Synchro Monster that can banish itself and a card in the opponent's hand during either player's Main Phase, return a banished card to the Graveyard during the opponent's Standby Phase, and can even recycle itself and one other card in either player's Graveyard during your Main Phase. Mainly hit due to a hand loop in the OCG involving Synchro Summoning 3 copies of this card in one turn to banish 3 cards in your opponent's hand. Abusable in other Decks like Zombies, Infernoids, and ABCs.
Rescue-ACE Air Lifter	Searches a Rescue-ACE Spell upon its Normal or Special Summon, usually searching EMERGENCY! (also Limited in the OCG) which can then be used to Special Summon Rescue-ACE Turbulence to easily Set 4 Rescue-ACE Spells/Traps, or Rescue-ACE HQ to recycle and reuse 4 Rescue-ACE Spells/Traps. This card is Semi-Limited in the OCG and is Unlimited in Master Duel.
Sunavalon Dryas	A Plant Link Monster which searches a Sunvine Spell/Trap upon its Link Summon, making it a key card of the Rikka/Sunavalon strategy. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel
Sunvine Healer	A Plant Link Monster used in the Rikka/Sunavalon strategy. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel
Saryuja Skull Dread	Generic Link Monster which gains effects depending on the number of monsters with different names used to Link Summon it. No once-per-turn restriction on its draw effect, and its completely generic Special Summon is not a hard once-per-turn either. There is a large number of combos available to a wide variety of decks, that can bring it out in multiples for maximum power. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and TCG
Snake-Eye Ash	Key starter of the Snake-Eye strategy, which searches another Snake-Eye monster upon its Normal or Special Summon; this is typically Snake-Eyes Poplar which can then freely Special Summon itself. Highly searchable with the "Diabellstar/Sinful Spoils package", ie. Diabellstar the Black Witch, WANTED: Seeker of Sinful Spoils (now Limited in the OCG) and Original Sinful Spoils - Snake-Eye or Bonfire. This card is Semi-Limited in the OCG and is Unlimited in the TCG.
Souleating Oviraptor	Searches or dumps any Dinosaur of your choice, and can revive any Dinosaur by destroying another; if destroying Babycerasaurus or Petiteranodon, this can generate even more advantage for Synchro, Xyz, and Link Summons. Can search Double Evolution Pill by dumping Overtex Qoatlus. An instant Level 5 Synchro or Link-2 when combined with Miscellaneousaurus and Jurrac Aeolo - this, among other things, leads to several of the combos enabled by Ib the World Chalice Justiciar. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Speedroid Terrortop	Can Special Summon itself when you have no monsters, then search Speedroid Taketomborg, which can also Special Summons itself for free due to Terrortop being a WIND, letting you make a Rank 3 Xyz Monster or Link 2 Link Monsters with 1 card without using your Normal Summon. Common choices include M-X-Saber Invoker for Zoodiac strategies and Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss to kick-start Burning Abyss combos, and Totem Bird for disruption. This card is Unlimited in the TCG and Master Duel.
SPYRAL Quik-Fix	When combined with SPYRAL Double Helix, Inferno Reckless Summon, and especially Machine Duplication, this card is able to create some insane combos and loops. At 1, it's much easier to permanently eliminate this card. Additionally, it effectively prevents circumvention of its self-banishment effect by using it as Xyz Material after revival, as the only other monster in the Deck with the same Level is SPYRAL GEAR - Drone. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Spright Blue	Two very useful starters or extenders in Spright strategies; Spright Blue being able to search Spright Jet and Spright Jet being able to search Spright Starter which can search Blue, allowing Blue to immediately Special Summoned and search another Spright extender (such as Spright Carrot or Spright Red for negates). Both were hit to reduce the consistency of Spright in the OCG. Both cards are Unlimited in the TCG while both cards are Semi-Limited in Master Duel.
Spright Jet
Striker Dragon	Link-1 that searches Boot Sector Launch, a very useful extending tool for swarming the board with more Rokket monsters for Dragon Link strategies. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Superheavy Samurai Soulpiercer	A searcher for Superheavy Samurai decks when it is sent from the field to the GY, which is easily accomplished by using this card (or a monster this card is equipped to) to Link Summon Superheavy Samurai Scarecrow (Forbidden in the TCG). This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
T.G. Hyper Librarian	Super splashable, low Level with decent ATK, good effect that works when either player Synchro Summons. Can be broken when comboed with Formula Synchron.
Tearlaments Havnis	The four Tearlament monsters (alongside Tearlaments Merrli) all have effects that can send Tearlament cards (including themselves) or mill from the Deck to the GY, proccing their shared Fusion Summon effects. Reinoheart is a starter which can also recur itself from the GY as a floating effect while Havnis can kickstart their milling combos even during the opponent's turn. Tearlaments Reinoheart and Tearlaments Kashtira are Unlimited in the TCG.
Tearlaments Kashtira
Tearlaments Reinoheart
Tearlaments Scheiren
Thunder Dragon Colossus	Thunder Dragon's de-facto boss monster. Easy to Summon, requiring only the Tribute of 1 Thunder monster during their turn a Thunder monster's hand effect was activated (ie. nearly every Thunder Dragon monster). Locks down the opponent from searching, which cripples most modern Decks. Can protect itself from destruction by banishing a Thunder monster from the Graveyard - which then activates the on-banish effects of the Thunder Dragon monsters used to get it on field. Having more than one on field pretty much guaranteed your opponent can never recover. Outside of Thunder Dragon strategies, this card could also be used alongside Nemeses Corridor which can be searched off of Cupid Pitch.
Tellarknight Ptolemaeus	Generic Rank 4 Xyz Monster that can be made with up to 5 Level 4 monsters, and can Summon a Rank 5 Xyz Monster from your Extra Deck by detaching 3 materials and using itself as Xyz Material (and is chainable). Mainly Forbidden for being able to Summon strong monsters that shouldn't normally be possible for most Decks, such as Constellar Pleiades, Cyber Dragon Nova (which is then used to Summon Cyber Dragon Infinity), and Outer Entity Azathot (now Forbidden). Tellarknight Vatlamyus was designed to replace this card. However, this card has never seen play even after coming off of the Forbidden status. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and TCG.
Zoodiac Ratpier	Instant +1. When attached to a Zoodiac Xyz Monster, that monster can Special Summon another copy of this card by detaching a material. As it is not once per turn, it can be re-used by Summoning another Zoodiac Xyz Monster on top of the old one, re-attached with Zoodiac Tigermortar, and recycled with Zoodiac Combo. When two others are Summoned by its effect, it allows for easy Rank 4 Xyz Summons, such as Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Tiger King, Daigusto Emeral, or Bujintei Kagutsuchi, while the original usually ends up as Zoodiac Drident (now Forbidden). Can be searched by M-X-Saber Invoker, Zoodiac Broadbull (both Forbidden), Fire Formation - Tenki, or Zoodiac Barrage (Forbidden in the OCG). This card is Limited in the OCG and TCG.
Branded Fusion	A central piece of the Branded-Despia strategy. Can fuse with monsters from the Deck, typically summoning either Albion the Branded Dragon or Lubellion the Searing Dragon which both have on-Fusion Summon effects to then Fusion Summon the powerful Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Branded Opening	Despia's main searcher, typically used to Summon Aluber the Jester of Despia which can search Branded Fusion (Limited in the OCG). Also provides a one-time protection against Fusion Monsters being destroyed by card effects. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Called by the Grave	Easily activated during your turn to cancel out an opponent's handtrap (Maxx "C" Forbidden in the TCG, Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring etc.). Potentially allows a player to build up near-impenetrable fields unopposed. This card is Semi-Limited in the OCG.
Card Destruction	Sets up your hand and Graveyard. Can mess up, or help with, the opponent's hand, but can also set up their Graveyard. Works very well with Dark World, Fabled, and Danger!. Like Morphing Jar (also Limited), can be more devastating to your opponent and more beneficial to you.
Chain Strike	Inflicts massive damage if used right. No once-per-turn restriction. Key card of Chain Burn Decks such as Chain Strike OTK, which use high numbers of chainable Spells/Traps to achieve ludicrous damage. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Change of Heart	Gain an opponent's monster for free for a turn, and you can do whatever you want with it. A superior version of Brain Control and Mind Control. No longer as broken as it previously was due to the pace of the modern game favoring players going first (which this card and other similar cards would be useless for), making the card only a Side Deck worthy card for going second at best. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Semi-Limited in Master Duel.
Chicken Game	Generic draw Spell that can be searched by Terraforming or Metaverse (both Limited) and reused by Pseudo Space, enabling a very consistent draw power and is entirely capable of Deck thining for virtually any Deck. Was Forbidden in the TCG due to abuse in various FTK Decks (including one with Monarchs) that used this card and Upstart Goblin (below) to have enough LP lower then their opponent's, use Life Equalizer (Forbidden in the OCG), then Blasting the Ruins, or Magical Explosion (Limited in the TCG) to finish off. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Chaos Space	Easily searches a LIGHT or DARK monster that cannot be Normal Summoned/Set, typically Chaos monsters. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Crossout Designator	A Quick-Play Spell that could negate the effects of one card by negating the effects by banishing a copy of it from the Main Deck, making it potent at stopping common hand traps such as Maxx "C" and Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring similarly to Called by the Grave. It could also hit Spell/Trap staples and key cards in the occasional Mirror Match line-up which Called by the Grave could not interact with. This card is Unlimited in the TCG predominantly due to Maxx "C" being Forbidden, shaping the TCG metagame to usually not use hand traps in the Main Deck at all to begin with.
Divine Wind of Mist Valley	Special Summons any Level 4 or lower WIND monster from your Deck if a WIND monster returns to the hand. Creates loops at more than 1 when combo'ed with Ancient Fairy Dragon (Forbidden). Works well with Genex Ally Birdman (Limited) and Harpie Dancer. Key card of the Divine Wind FTK. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Dragonic Diagram	A strong Field Spell Card that can search any "True Draco" or "True King" card from your Deck to your hand by destroying any other card you control or in your hand, and can also give all True Draco and True King monsters 300 ATK and DEF while protecting those that are Tribute Summoned from being destroyed by battle once per turn. The destruction effect can thus trigger the effects of the True Kings and many other archetypes, as well as Dinosaurs. Can be searched by Terraforming and Metaverse. This card is Unimited in the OCG.
EMERGENCY!	Special Summons a Rescue-ACE monster from the Deck while Tributing a monster in the hand or field. This is the archetype's main strategy to Special Summon Rescue-ACE Turbulence which then Sets up to 4 Rescue-ACE Spells/Traps from the Deck. This card is Unlimited in the TCG and in Master Duel.
Final Countdown	Powerful alternate win-condition Spell card. Instantly wins the Duel in 20 turns (or 10 of your turns) if you can stall your opponent long enough with cards like Waboku, Threatening Roar, Battle Fader, Swift Scarecrow, Frozen Soul, Thunder of Ruler or One Day of Peace (which is also Limited). Gold Sarcophagus can get this card to your hand easier. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Floowandereeze and the Magnificent Map	A strong Field Spell Card that can grant an additional Normal Summon of a revealed "Floowandereeze" monster and banish a different "Floowandereeze" monster, setting up that banished Floowandereeze monster to be recurred back to the hand. It also allowed the user to begin their chain of Normal Summon of Floowandereeze monsters whenever the opponent Normal Summons a monster, culminating in the search and Tribute Summoning of their boss monsters (Raiza the Mega Monarch, Mist Valley Apex Avian and Floowandereeze & Empen) even on the opponent's turn. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and TCG.
Foolish Burial	Sends any monster you want from the Deck to the Graveyard. Since several Decks depend greatly on Graveyard plays, with the number increasing as the game has developed, this card has only become more powerful.
Foolish Burial Goods	Similar to Foolish Burial, though this card can only send a Spell/Trap. While there are less Spell/Trap cards in the game having beneficial effects in the GY compared to monsters, the plays they can enable that this card can facilitate is still very comparable. This card is Semi-Limited in the OCG and is Unlimited in the TCG.
Fusion Destiny	Fusion Summons Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer using materials from the Deck. This effect can be copied by Predaplant Verte Anaconda (Forbidden in the OCG and TCG). Unlike Red-Eyes Fusion being used to Fusion Summon Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon, its activation does not prevent the user from Special Summoning any monster beforehand (and is not a dead card in hand unlike Red-Eyes Fusion), allowing this card to be used as a finisher and its materials usually had beneficial effects in the GY that could be used during the user's next turn. This card is Unlimited in the TCG and is Semi-Limited in Master Duel.
Gateway of the Six	Can gain counters whenever a Six Samurai monster is Normal or Special Summoned. With the introduction of Legendary Six Samurai monsters that can Special Summon themselves, and the ability for Gateway to remove Bushido Counters from anywhere on your side of the field, 2 or more of these would result in constant searching of Six Samurai monsters for every Summon. Can create ridiculous swarming, loops, lockdowns, and even FTKs if you control other cards that gain Bushido counters on the field. However, Six Samurais haven't been relevant in a long time, so it came back to 1. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Gold Sarcophagus	Allows you to banish any card you want from your Deck, which is effectively a Foolish Burial for Decks that manipulate banishment. The 2-turn wait to bring the card back into your hand would balance it if there weren't so many ways to get a banished card into a usable position. Abusable with the Dragon Rulers (Forbidden) and cards such as Necroface, and more recently in Thunder Dragons. Its Limiting, in the OCG, also limits the impact of Tempest's return at 1.
Harpie's Feather Duster	Clears out the opponent's backrow while yours is safe. Although it was previously Forbidden, the card is no longer broken due to the prominence of decks that don't have set Spell/Traps, being played more of a Side Deck card.
Infernity Launcher	Easily searched by Infernity Archfiend. Creates loops at more than 1. First effect allows you to empty your hand to prepare for its second effect. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and is Semi-Limited in Master Duel.
Magical Mid-Breaker Field	A superb stall card which slows games to a crawl. Various effects that target monsters on the opponent's field are unable to be used to disrupt combos. Used by Extra Link-focused Decks for an even greater level of protection. When you build a Deck around it, the opponent's Deck is affected and yours is not. Can be searched by Terraforming and the like. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Mask Change II	This card allows the player to Summon powerful Masked HERO Fusion Monsters such as Dark Law or Acid using non-HERO monsters, making these Fusion Monsters too splashable. Its drawback is easily circumvented by using Burning Abyss monsters. This card is Unlimited in the TCG and is Semi-Limited in Master Duel.
Monster Reborn	One of the most powerful Spell Cards in the game that can fit into any Deck. Can be a very powerful topdeck with very little setup. Can even Special Summon from the opponent's Graveyard, further punishing them if the player manages to get rid of a strong monster they control and use it for themselves.
One Day of Peace	Easily the best stall card in the game. The +1 for your opponent is offset compared to the results. No advantage lost when played. Can be used after you attack to take no damage for a turn. Sets up for big plays and OTKs. Works very well in Exodia/Final Countdown Decks. There is also an OTK/FTK loop with this card in Gishki Decks, where multiple copies of this and other draw cards were repeatedly recycled with Evigishki Mind Augus to Deck out the opponent in a single turn. Can be recycled and reused by Magician of Faith (which is Unlimited in the TCG). However, it does require that you have other combo pieces to set up, lest you give the opponent an opportunity to establish a strong field instead.
One for One	Nice searcher. Formerly abused in Frog Burn FTK, Mind Master OTK, and Plant Synchro. Loss in card advantage is easily recoverable with the right setup. Used with Neptabyss, the Atlantean Prince and various combos hinging on other Level 1 monsters such as Level Eater, Jet Synchron, Raidraptor - Last Strix, D/D Lamia and D/D Savant Kepler.
Pot of Extravagance	Another Pot of Greed retrain that banishes 3 or 6 cards from the Extra Deck randomly to draw 1 or 2 cards. Heavily used in decks that are non-reliant on Summoning from their Extra Deck, including stun strategies. This card is Semi-Limited in the OCG and is Unlimited in the TCG.
Pot of Prosperity	Grabs one card from the top 3 or 6 excavated cards (at the cost of banishing the same number of cards from the Extra Deck face down), this was capable of grabbing combo pieces, extenders or key staples that can be better than just blindly drawing cards from the deck despite of this card's drawbacks. Even then, this card's drawbacks are not much of an issue due to more decks favoring the ability to add cards from their Deck to their hand by methods other than drawing. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Primal Seed	Can cause FTK loops when allowed in multiples, combined with Banisher of the Light or any similar card that banishes anything that would go to the Graveyard. With a Primal Seed banished, activate any burn card (even Sparks), then use a second Primal Seed to recover the first Primal Seed and your burn card. Repeat until your opponent is defeated. However, this setup is somewhat more convoluted than some other FTK loops. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Purrely Sleepy Memory	A Purrely Quick-Play Spell that can Special Summon a Purrely monster from the Deck. It also provided a draw during the Standby Phase if it is attached to a Purrely Xyz Monster, usually drawing into a handtrap due to the compact nature of the Purrely strategy. This card is Semi-Limited in the TCG and is Unlimited in Master Duel.
Reasoning	Was used a lot by Turbo and OTK Decks. Free Special Summon of amonster or easily dumps other cards to Graveyard, both of which can be beneficial. This card saw heavy play in Infernoids, which can dump vast amounts of Infernoid monsters for future use, causing it to be re-Limited. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Reinforcement of the Army	Too broad. This card adds additional speed to many Decks, like Evilswarms, Lightsworns, Six Samurais, tellarknights, HEROs, Ninjas, Inzektors (grabs Dark Grepher or Armageddon Knight), and Infernities (for the same reason as Inzektors). Certain Warrior Decks have their own version of this card, which prevents this from going to 2 to assist other Warrior Decks.
Runick Fountain	Huge contributor to the Runick strategy; this card enables the disruptive Runick Quick-Play Spells to be used from the hand during the opponent's turn and it also sets up a very effective resource recursion loop, placing Runick Quick-Play Spells from the GY to the Deck while drawing cards, easily out-grind the opponent in the resource game. Easily searched by Special Summoning Hugin the Runick Wings via any Runick Quick-Play Spell. Hugin could also banish itself to protect this card if it would be destroyed by the opponent's card effects, making it difficult to get rid off when paired with Runick Quick-Play Spells being able to Summon Hugin in response to the opponent's destruction effects. This card is Semi-Limited in the TCG.
Sky Striker Mecha - Hornet Drones	An easy, instant 1-card Sky Striker Ace Link Monster, which does not use the Normal Summon. Highly splashable, and searchable by Engage and recoverable by Sky Striker Ace - Kagari. Key card in Link Decks, both those that use Sky Strikers and those looking to set up a Knightmare lockdown.
Slash Draw	Limited after the rise of FTK strategies that stack the Deck, using cards such as Dr. Frankenderp or Saryuja Skull Dread, to ensure its effect will go off, nuking the field and causing deadly burn by itself. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Spright Starter	Summons any Spright monster from the Deck. Limited after the dominance of Spright strategies. This card is Unlimited in the TCG and is Semi-Limited in Master Duel.
WANTED: Seeker of Sinful Spoils	Main searcher of the Diabellstar/Sinful Spoils. Ofen searches Diabellstar the Black Witch, which can then freely Special Summon itself and then search a Sinful Spoils card; this is Original Sinful Spoils - Snake-Eye which can then Special Summon any Level 1 FIRE monster from the Deck. Afterwards, this card could recycle a Sinful Spoils card to the Deck and allows the user to draw 1 card. This highly splashable engine which greatly supported a variety of Decks in the 2023-2024 metagame, including Snake-Eye, Rescue-ACE and Fire King and was hit to limit the engine's consistency to slow these Decks down. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Anti-Spell Fragrance	Another Continuous Trap floodgate which makes both players having to Set Spell Cards before they can be activated and prevents both players from activating Set Spell Cards until their next turn, essentially making Spell Cards behave like Trap Cards. With how prevalent Spell Card usage is in a handful of strategies, taking away the Spell Card usage from the second player is very oppressive. It also shuts down Pendulum strategies, due to Pendulum Monsters being unable to be Set in the Pendulum Zones. It is another commonly used Side Deck card to gain overwhelming advantage. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and is Semi-Limited in Master Duel.
Gozen Match	The trio of monster control limiters of Continuous Traps which restricted both players into controlling one monster Attribute or Type (Gozen or Rivalry respectively), or one monster of each Type only (There Can Be Only One). Due to their detailed rulings, these floodgates essentially stopped most diverse combo decks that commonly used a variety of monsters from playing if they did not have Spell/Trap removal cards on hand and were favored to be used in "stun" strategies. In particular, controlling both Rivalry of Warlords and There Can Be Only One forced the player to only being able to control one monster regardless. Gozen Match is Unlimited in the OCG, and There Can Be Only One is Semi-Limited in Master Duel.
Rivalry of Warlords
There Can Be Only One
Naturia Sacred Tree	Hit mainly for its effect to search a Naturia card that triggers whenever it is sent to the GY. This effect did not have any "hard-once-per-turn" activation unlike its other on-field effects. Can be procced by generic milling effect or by the effect of Naturia Camellia if it is Normal or Special Summoned (which in turn can be Special Summoned by Naturia Mole Cricket). This card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Skill Drain	One card to continuously negates the effects of all monsters while they were on the field. This is still devastating even in the modern game where most deck-strategies are highly reliant on their on-field monster effects as part of their strateies. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Trickstar Reincarnation	Hit to stop a hand loop which created OTK/FTKs, especially when combined with Droll & Lock Bird. Banishes the opponent's hand instead of discarding, making the retrival of said cards much harder and it also has an additional effect in the GY to revive a Trickstar monster. No limit on the number of times you can activate both effects. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Semi-Limited
Armageddon Knight	Sends ANY DARK monster from your Deck to the Graveyard whenever it's Summoned. Can lead to crazy power-plays just by simply dumping one certain monster and can trigger monster effects like Archfiend Heiress, Elemental HERO Shadow Mist, and all the Shaddoll monsters. Can be searched by Reinforcement of the Army, Mystic Tomato, and Summoner Monk. Saw heavy use as a "1-card FTK" in late 2018, whereby this card dumping Malicious (Semi-Limited) quickly Summoned Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights, which soon led to Firewall Dragon (pre-errata) being Forbidden. With the aforementioned strategies being no longer viable in the current metagame, this card no longer sees any competitive use. This is card is Unlimited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Destiny HERO - Malicious	Pulls another copy of itself directly from the Deck by banishing itself from the Graveyard. No once per turn restriction. Can be used for easy Synchro and Link Summon plays as well as an extender in HERO decks. Its effect also combines well with Destiny HERO - Denier to get an additional use of this card's effect. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Dimension Shifter	A hand trap that acts as a temporary Macro Cosmos, easily shutting down Graveyard-reliant decks. Floowandereeze decks in particular could recycle this card by Raiza the Mega Monarch, allowing them to use this effect repetitively. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Fire King High Avatar Kirin	Fire King monster which could help other FIRE decks such as Fire King or Snake-Eye play around commonly used targeted disruptions such as Effect Veiler or Infinite Impermanence, then Summon itself as a free body. If this card is destroyed, it can recur another Fire King monster and then destroy another card on the field. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
S:P Little Knight	Hugely disruptive Link Monster which could banish a card on the field or GY upon its Link Summon (typically done during the opponent's turn via I:P Masquerena, then it could temporarily banish any 2 monsters on the field in response to an opponent's card/effect, allowing it to dodge blowout cards or just mess with the opponent's monster to hinder their strategy. However, Deck lists wouldn't play this card at 3 copies besides those using the additional copies for Pot of Extravagance or Pot of Prosperity banish costs. This card is Unlimited in the TCG and Master Duel.
Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier	Probably the best Synchro around for a long time after its release. Easy to drop in most Synchro-based Decks. Banishes a card from 3 different places without targeting. Agents could also drop it easily. Could be looped in Infernities, but now the key cards used to do that are a non-factor (Brionac is errata'd and Daigusto Emeral is Limited). This card is Unlimited in the OCG and TCG.
Emergency Teleport	A versatile search card that Summons Level 3 or lower Psychic-Type Monsters for easy Extra Deck Summons over the course of the game's competitive history since its introduction, from Kozmo monsters which can then banish themselves on the fly to Summon stronger ones from your hand, and Super Quantum Blue Layer for both pure and hybrid Super Quant Monarch Decks, which were topping in the OCG. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Fossil Dig	Searches a large number of Dinosaur monsters, such as Babycerasaurus, Miscellaneousaurus (which can be used as a handtrap), Petiteranodon (both it and "Babycerasaurus" can be destroyed in the hand by the effect of True King Lithosagym, the Disaster {Foridden in the TCG} for easy advantage), and Souleating Oviraptor, which can search any Dinosaurs this card cannot. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Lightning Storm	A versatile staple that can clear either the opponent's Attack Position monsters or their Spells and Traps, making it flexible to deal with whatever the opponent is against (though it is usually used for the latter). This card is Unlimited in Master Duel.
My Friend Purrely	One of Purrely's main searchers, which can also recur 3 Purrely Quick-Play Spells from the GY if the opponent manages to remove the user's Purrely Xyz Monster. This card is Unlimited in the TCG and in Master Duel.
Pot of Desires	A Pot of Greed retrain with a harsh activation cost of banishing the top 10 cards, with a low probability of banishing all 3 copies of a needed card but decks still played it anyway. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Purrely Delicious Memory	A Purrely Quick-Play Spell that protects a monster from being destroyed by battle and it can Special Summon a Purrely monster from the Deck. It also provided an ATK/DEF gain while attached to a Purrely Xyz Monster This card is Semi-Limited in the OCG and Master Duel.
Raigeki	While an all monster destruction card used to be considered broken in the early years of the game, the number of monsters with protection, have floating effects or have effects that can negate this card's effect or its activation has made this card not as impactful in the current metagame. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Super Polymerization	Powerful, chainable Quick-Play Spell Card that cannot be chained to. Can fuse monsters from either player's field, easily breaking multiple Quick Effect disruptions as they cannot be used in response. Some useful choices to Summon include Garura, Wings of Resonant Life, Mudragon of the Swamp or Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, and can further be used in Fusion-oriented decks such as HEROes (any "Omni HERO"), Shaddolls, or Invoked. Can also be used to fuse any two Synchro or Xyz Monsters from either side of the field to make Elder Entity Norden (Forbidden). This card is Unlimited in the TCG and Master Duel.
Trickstar Light Stage	Searches on activation, with no restriction, so can be looped with cards that return to the hand. Was used as a starter for the Orcust combo by searching Trickstar Candina. Disrupts an opponent's backrow easily, and augments a Trickstar's burn. Can be searched by one of the several other cards that searches Field Spells. This card is Unlimited in the OCG and TCG.
Big Welcome Labrynth	Special Summons a Labrynth monster from anywhere, then returns any monster the user controls to the hand. Since it is a Normal Trap effect that makes a monster leave the field, it can trigger several other Labrynth effects (Labrynth Chandraglier, Labrynth Cooclock and/or Labrynth Stovie Torbie recurring themselves, a hand-rip with Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle, or Lady Labrynth of the Silver Castle. Can also be copied via Transaction Rollback. This card also has an additional effect to bounce a monster by banishing the card itself from the GY. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
No longer on list
A-Assault Core	Superb card in ABCs, and can also work in other Decks that use LIGHT Machines, like Cyber Dragons. Can be equipped directly from the Deck with Union Hangar. Can be used to give immunity to powerful monsters like ABC-Dragon Buster. Returns another Union monster from your Graveyard to your hand when it leaves the field, including when used as a material, and including other copies of itself, resulting in a loop when combined with Firewall Dragon (Forbidden) and Cannon Soldier (Forbidden in the OCG) that allowed for an OTK. Removed from the TCG list after Firewall Dragon's Forbidding.
ABC-Dragon Buster	Boss "A-to-Z" Monster Summonable if its materials are on the field or in the Graveyard, which is relatively easy to achieve with cards like Ties of the Brethren and Future Fusion. Can banish a card during either player's turn, allowing easy disruption during your opponent's turn and clearing the way for OTKs. It can also escape destruction with its second effect during the opponent's turn, restoring its materials for the next turn to Summon a fresh ABC-Dragon Buster and/or make Rank 4 Xyz Summons. Far outclasses other "A-to-Z" monsters, whose materials must be banished from the field, cannot be Special Summoned from the Graveyard, use Ignition Effects that aren't chainable (excluding A-to-Z-Dragon Buster Cannon), and can only destroy cards (excluding VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon). ABCs have since sunk to irrelevance in the OCG, dropping this card off the list.
Abyss Soldier	Semi-Limited from April '05 to Sept '05 due to its abuse with Sinister Serpent, allowing free bouncing, once per turn. After Sinister Serpent got Forbidden, this came off the list.
Aleister the Invoker	Easily searched by Magical Meltdown (which is searchable by Terraforming, Limited in the OCG), and searches Invocation upon its Summon, which can Fusion Summon an "Invoked" Fusion Monster by using this card and monsters in either player's Graveyard. When used in combination with the Windwitch engine (see Windwitch - Ice Bell), this can result in a minimum field of Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon and Invoked Raidjin, and has high versatility given the range of Invoked Fusion Monsters. Invoked don't do a lot competitively nowadays.
Altergeist Meluseek	A searcher for Altergeists if Linked away, which also has access to non-destruction removal. Powerful if accessed early on. Altergeist no longer sees play in the meta though.
Apprentice Magician	Was used to get Magician of Faith from your Deck face-down to get access to its effect. Nephthys Decks also used it to search Hand of Nephthys to quickly Summon Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys. The Apprentice Magician > Old Vindictive Magician Monarch combo didn't really contribute to its initial Semi-Limitation, so it came off the list. Also, Flip Effect monsters are considered to be too slow nowadays.
Apoqliphort Towers	Powerful boss monster in Qlis. Could easily be Tribute Summoned when released due to the initial swarming capabilities of the archetype. While in the OCG the ubiquity of Utopia the Lightning prevented this from becoming enough of a threat to be Forbidden, a lot of Decks in the TCG were incapable of removing this card due to its immunity to most effects and it reducing the ATK of Special Summoned monsters by 500, forcing them to run specific counter cards like Heroic Champion - Excalibur. However, it could easily be dealt with after the release of more generic counter cards such as Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon and Kaijus. Now not nearly as powerful due to New Master Rules making harder to gather enough Tributes, but can still be a force to be reckoned with, especially if you lock out the Extra Deck with cards like Domain of the True Monarchs.
Archlord Kristya	Strong ATK, seals Special Summons, and is difficult to get rid of since it goes back to the top of the Deck instead of the Graveyard. Generates a +1 when Special Summoned. Came off due to lack of use in the current meta.
Artifact Moralltach	Can destroy any face-up card your opponent controls without targeting when it's Summoned. Can be searched with Artifact Sanctum and Artifact Ignition. Can be reused with Artifact Failnaught or Call of the Haunted.
Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring	A handtrap that can fit into most Decks. Can negate any effect that affects the Deck, disrupting most plays in the current game and blocking combos key to the function of the Deck, which can turn a Duel one-sided. It can also negate the effect of another common staple, Maxx "C", which was presumably part of the reason it was briefly Semi-Limited in the OCG.
Atlantean Dragoons	Amazing Searcher. Adds any Sea Serpent from your Deck to your hand when sent to the Graveyard as a cost for a WATER monster's effect. Key card in Mermail Decks. Also allows other Sea Serpents to attack directly, therefore gaining Atlantean Marksman's effect. Can easily be searched with Atlantean Marksman, Genex Undine, and Summoner Monk.
Babycerasaurus	Generates excellent advantage when triggered by Dragonic Diagram, Lost World, Miscellaneousaurus (Limited in the TCG), Souleating Oviraptor (Limited in the OCG), and "True King Lithosagym, the Disaster" (Forbidden in the TCG). Easily searched by Souleating Oviraptor and Fossil Dig (Semi-Limited in the OCG).
Black Rose Dragon	Universal nuke. Top Decks wouldn't really use more than one in their Extra Deck anyways, if they were using this card to begin with.
Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning	Can be Special Summoned easily, good effects, high ATK. Honest can be used on its first attack, then the 2nd attack would be deadly. Basically a better Chaos Sorcerer (below).
Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind	Can be Special Summoned in Blackwing Decks very easily. A reusable permanent Shrink. Universal Tuner. However, Blackwings haven't done much in a long time, so it was brought down to 3.
Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow	Can easily turn battles around in Blackwing Decks. Unlike Honest, it can even be used when attacking directly for massive damage. Blackwings aren't as good as they once were so this came back to 3.
Blackwing - Steam the Cloak	Summons a Token when it leaves the field, and can be revived quickly after that for one Tribute, which gives an easy Synchro or Link Material. One of the cards of choice to Summon Crystron Halqifibrax, which generates easy card advantage and can bring out a Synchro Tuner on top of that. With Crystron Halqifibrax now Forbidden, this is no longer an issue.
Breaker the Magical Warrior	Back when it was Forbidden/Limited, +1 cards were overpowered; Breaker lets you destroy a card almost for free and you'll still have a monster, or you could leave it as a 1900 Beatstick which was quite a lot at the time.
Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier	Was formerly Forbidden due to a lack of a once per turn restriction, allowing you to bounce cards with its effect multiple times per turn and reuse your own cards for loops and OTKs. Now, it has been errata'd so it can only be used once per turn, and can only bounce your opponent's cards, not your own.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Rooster	Key card in Fire Fists. Adds any Fire Fist monster from your Deck to your hand when Summoned by a Fire Fist monster's effect. Can also search Fire Formation Spell/Trap cards. Can be searched easily with Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Horse Prince or Fire Formation - Tenki. Can be reused with Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Spirit or Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Lion Emperor. Fire Fists aren't relevant anymore though, so it went back to 3.
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Spirit	Key card in Fire Fist 3-Axis Deck. Works well with Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Rooster and Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Leopard. Searchable via Fire Formation - Tenki and/or Rooster. At 3, easily makes a new Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Horse Prince every turn. Also reusable via Rekindling and Crane Crane, and can be returned to your hand via Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Lion Emperor to start the combo all over again. Fire Fists aren't relevant anymore though, so it went back to 3.
Burner, Dragon Ruler of Sparks	Were formerly Forbidden due to being able to easily Special Summon their respective Level 7 Dragon Rulers directly from the Deck for easy Rank 7 Xyz Summons and/or Level 8 Synchro Summons. After their "adult" counterparts were Forbidden, these cards came back to 3.
Lightning, Dragon Ruler of Drafts
Reactan, Dragon Ruler of Pebbles
Stream, Dragon Ruler of Droplets
Card Trooper	Can be a good beatstick for 1 turn. Sets up the Graveyard for many Decks. When it dies, you draw 1, so no advantage lost. Can be doubled up with Machine Duplication.
Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End	Can be Special Summoned easily, great effect, high ATK, deadly nuke, and serious burn. Sends cards rather than destroying, thus cards like Stardust Dragon and Starlight Road cannot stop it. Previously, if you used its effect while you controlled a monster like Sangan, you could easily gain an advantage over your opponent since they would be topdecking and you would have a monster. However, it has since received an errata which makes it a Nomi monster, inflicts damage based on only the opponent's cards, and prevents other card effects from being activated for the rest of the turn. Was a key card in the infamous Yata-Garasu Lockdown. Can be searched by Eclipse Wyvern (Forbidden in the TCG).
Chaos Sorcerer	Can be Special Summoned easily, decent effect. However, relatively low ATK. With the rise of Chaos Decks, getting this out is even easier than before. Searchable with Justice of Prophecy. Came off the list due to its lack of use in the meta, and Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning is considered better anyways.
Chronomaly Nebra Disk	Adds any Chronomaly card from your Deck to your hand other than itself when Normal Summoned, mainly Chronomaly Crystal Skull (who then searches another copy of this card), and Chronomaly Golden Jet, who can be used to make easy Rank 5 Xyz Summons with this card or with Artifact monsters. Has decent ATK. Can also revive itself from the Graveyard for Rank 4 (or 5 with Golden Jet) Xyz Summons if you only control Chronomaly monsters. Mainly hit due to Chronomaly/Artifact builds topping in the OCG before The Duelist Advent.
Cir, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss	Key card in Burning Abyss. Can Special Summon any of their monsters from your Graveyard whenever it is sent to the Graveyard, allowing easy recovery, or to Summon another Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss, Virgil, Rock Star of the Burning Abyss, or get set-up for Fire Lake of the Burning Abyss again in the mid- to late-game. Can be searched by Tour Guide from the Underworld and Graff, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss. However, Burning Abyss have not topped ever since.
Coach Soldier Wolfbark	Key card in 4-axis Fire Fist Decks. Special Summons Level 4 Fire Fist or Fire King monsters from your Graveyard for easy Rank 4 Xyz Summons. At 3, can easily make a new Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Tiger King each turn. Can be searched easily with Fire Formation - Tenki. Came off the TCG list due to the lack of Fire Fist and Fire King Decks topping.
Constellar Ptolemy M7	Good effect. Can be used in Hieratics, Dragunitys, Constellars, or any Deck that makes easy Rank 6 monsters. Automatically usable after one of your other Constellar Xyz Monsters runs out of Materials. Key card for the Evigishki Gustkraken hand loop, which is not relevant anymore.
Cyber Angel Benten	Key card in Drytron-Drytron strategies. By tributing it (usually by the effects of Drytron monsters), it can search any LIGHT Fairy monster from the Deck (including Herald monsters and another copy of itself) and this effect had no once-per-turn restriction. Was also occasionally Summoned to facilitate the Xyz Summon of Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal (Limited in the TCG) to mill copies of Eva (Forbidden in the TCG) which can search Fairies in the hand to use as discard fodder for the effect of Herald of Ultimateness. With Eva banned in the TCG and the shifting of the metagame-viable decks, Herald-Drytron fell off in the meta so this card came back at 3.
Cyber Dragon	Can be Special Summoned easily. Good ATK. Usable in many Decks. However, there are increasing numbers of newer monsters with effects similar to this card, and increasing amounts of newer Decks that can Special Summon "a bunch of monsters in one turn", so older Decks need this. Also, the opponent can use Chimeratech Fortress Dragon against you if you're using machines as well (e.g. Morphtronics, Salvo, Gadgets).
D.D. Assailant	Hit back when Warrior Toolbox Decks were Tier 1. Powerful in a different way to its similar counterparts D.D. Warrior and D.D. Warrior Lady, as it needs to be destroyed to fire off its banishment effect, meaning it can attack low-power monsters without wasting its effect. The Warrior Toolbox is irrelevant now, so this is gone from the list.
D/D Lamia	A reusable Level 1 Tuner that can revive itself for Synchro plays by sending any D/D or Dark Contract card from your hand or field to the Graveyard. The D/D strategy was strong for a short time in the OCG and then fell out of meta relevancy.
D/D Swirl Slime	A polymerization on legs that can Fusion Summon a D/D/D Fusion Monster using D/D monsters from your hand as materials, including itself. It can also banish itself from the Graveyard afterwards to Special Summon a D/D monster from your hand. The D/D strategy was strong for a short time in the OCG and then fell out of meta relevancy.
D.D. Warrior Lady	Similar to D.D. Assailant, but this card had the option to remove the monster, or not to remove the monster. Ultimately, the lack of need to be destroyed by battle to use its banishment effect would mean this came off the list a while after Assailant.
Danger! Nessie!	Used part of the Danger! archetypal engine alongside Danger!? Jackalope? and Danger!? Tsuchinoko? (both currently Limited in the TCG).
Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss	A generic Rank 3 Xyz Monster that can easily fill the Graveyard with monsters, such as Burning Abyss and Phantom Knights monsters for easy advantage. Can replace or even recycle another copy of itself once it is sent to the Graveyard through any means, and can also be used to easily Xyz Summon Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal (Limited in the TCG). It also forms a small loop with Cir, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss.
Dark Armed Dragon	Can be Special Summoned easily in most DARK Decks. Specific destructive power. High ATK. Was a key component of Tele-DAD decks in the 2008-2009 metagame. However it no longer sees any play, even with this card's Limitation status being lifted.
Dark Magician of Chaos	It's a strong monster with a very good effect; its effect even works when it's Special Summoned, making it more powerful than Magician of Faith, who is also Unlimited. Dark Armed Return Decks were godly with this card. However, this card was errata'd so that it can only retrieve one Spell per turn, during the end phase of when it's Normal or Special Summoned, allowing it to come off the list.
Dark Scorpion - Chick the Yellow	Capable of bouncing your own card back to the hand. Was capable of forming an OTK with Makyura the Destructor and Call of the Haunted where, whilst under Makyura's effect, you would revive this card with Call of the Haunted, damage your opponent, bounce Call of the Haunted, destroy this card, and repeat. Makyura is Forbidden now, and this card has little use otherwise.
Dark Strike Fighter	Was formerly Forbidden due to being able to tribute any number of monsters on your field during either of your Main Phases to create easy OTKs, and a minimum of 4000 damage by itself in some cases. Now, they changed the effect so Dark Strike Fighter can only tribute one monster per turn during your Main Phase 1.
Debris Dragon	Highly usable with the number of Level 3 monsters with very low ATK like Lonefire Blossom, Dandylion, Card Trooper, etc. Can easily make LEVEL 7 Synchros like Black Rose Dragon, or higher-Level monsters like Trishula if Tokens are present on the field. Could also be abused in Dragon Ruler Decks (where it was searchable via Tempest) to Synchro Summon Star Eater or to bring back Flamvell Guard or The White Stone of Legend for Level 8 Synchro Summons in Dragon Ruler Decks. However, it does require a player's Normal Summon, making it far slower, and hard to reuse.
Deep Sea Diva	Good searcher. Creates automatic Level 5-8 Synchros or Rank 2 Xyz when used in conjunction with Abyss-sphere and Atlantean Marksman or Atlantean Heavy Infantry upon Normal Summon. Is also one of the many ways to access Crystron Halqifibrax (Limited in the OCG). Ultimately, though, it's not that fast these days (though cynics may note that it was moved to 2 in the OCG just before the release of a new Deck theme based on it...). This card is Semi-Limited in the OCG.
Demise, King of Armageddon	See Demise/Doom OTK. The eventual lack of such Decks in the meta resulted in this card coming off the list.
Destiny HERO - Disk Commander	Its effect as originally printed had no restriction, which proved to be far too powerful. Several cards could revive it, and they were effectively turned into Pot of Greeds by Disk Commander's effect. It now has a new erratum as of 2018, which limits the effect to once per Duel and prevents it from being Special Summoned from the Graveyard in the same turn it's sent there, so is much less useful.
Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier	Creates loops and OTKs when used with cards like Symbols of Duty or Symbol of Heritage. Used to be Summoned easily using Elder Entity Norden (Forbidden) as Synchro Material. Can also reuse cards like Call of the Haunted, Fiendish Chain, Abyss-sphere, etc. However, the effect has now a "hard once-per-turn restriction" which no longer made it abusable as it once was.
Dinomight Knight, the True Dracofighter	Allows easy searching and/or activation of True Draco and True King Continuous Traps directly from your Deck, without needing to be set first, all of which allow the player to Tribute Summon another True Draco during the opponent's turn on top of their other powerful effects. Because this effect is not an only-once-per turn, this means that multiple Dinomight can activate their effects in one turn. Previously Forbidden, but has slid down the list due to Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King being Forbidden. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Double Iris Magician	Key card in Pendulum Magicians. Easily pulled from the Deck and thrown straight into the Extra Deck by Heavymetalfoes Electrumite. Searches the powerful Pendulumgraph cards when it is destroyed (e.g. by Wavering Eyes, the Electrumite that Summoned it, or another Pendulumgraph), which enables further searching with Star Pendulumgraph or destructive removal with Time Pendulumgraph. Pendulum Magicians have fallen off the meta.
Draconnet	A 1-card Link-2. Can make Crystron Halqifibrax instantly, and is also used as a combo starter in the Guardragon combo. With the former card being banned, and the Guardragon no longer accessible due to Ib the World Chalice Justiciar being banned, this card quickly fell out of the meta.
Ehther the Heavenly Monarch	Key monster in Monarch Decks. Can Special Summon another Monarch from your Deck when it's Tribute Summoned, while also setting up your Graveyard with cards such as Pantheism of the Monarchs or The Prime Monarch. It can even Tribute Summon itself during the opponent's turn to disrupt their plays with The Monarchs Stormforth and Kuraz the Light Monarch. Monarch Decks are rarely used these days, though.
El Shaddoll Construct	Key Fusion Monster in Shaddoll Decks along with El Shaddoll Winda (below). Sets up combos by sending ANY "Shaddoll" card from your Deck to the Graveyard once Fusion Summoned, can send useful LIGHT monsters from the Deck to the Graveyard when using "Shaddoll Fusion", and can autokill any Special Summoned monster when it battles. Shaddolls are not regularly played nowadays, so this slid off the list.
El Shaddoll Winda	Key Fusion Monster in Shaddoll Decks along with El Shaddoll Construct (above). Restricts both players to 1 Special Summon per turn and can't be destroyed by the opponent's card effects. Can be Fusion Summoned easily with Shaddoll Fusion, Nepheshaddoll Fusion or El Shaddoll Fusion, all of which can also be recycled with this card's effect. However, at times when Construct was Forbidden, this was considered to be acceptable at 3, and since then Shaddolls have fallen into irrelevance anyway.
Elemental HERO Bubbleman	Mainly was Limited due to making combos and causing OTKs with Elemental HERO Stratos. Can easily make Rank 4 Xyz Summons or Fusion Summons with Miracle Fusion or Mask Change. Second effect can turn around games, but is rarely pulled off nowadays.
Elemental HERO Shadow Mist	Good Level 4 monster in HERO Decks that can search any "Change" Quick-Play Spell(mainly Mask Change or Mask Change II) when it's Special Summoned and can also search a HERO monster when it's sent to the Graveyard. The monster usually Summoned by those Change Quick Play Spell was Masked HERO Dark Law which has a couple of oppressive effects. Was Limited in OCG due to the unexpected splashability in most Decks, though this card no longer had any use in the metagame.
Elemental HERO Stratos	Great searcher that triggers on Normal or Special Summon. No once-per-turn restriction allows it to create OTKs. You lose no advantage playing this card. Easily searched by other cards, such as A Hero Lives, ROTA (the latter still currently Limited), E - Emergency Call, Summoner Monk, etc. Also has a potent destruction effect. Was part of the Airblade Turbo Deck, the top Deck of the September 2006 Format, an FTK involving Divine Wind of Mist Valley which gave this card's Forbidden status for a few years. The strategies which used this card have since fallen into irrelevance.
Evigishki Gustkraken	Awesome hand control card. There is a loop where this card is used within a Gishki-Hieratic hybrid Deck and can be bounced repeatedly with Constellar Ptolemy M7 to shut down the opponent's hand. It didn't help that Hieratics Summon Level 6 monsters with the greatest of ease.
Evigishki Mind Augus	Can greatly hinder opponent's Graveyard while recycling yours, letting you reuse your Gishki cards. Key card of the Gishki FTK. This card is Unlimited in the OCG.
Evilswarm Exciton Knight	Generic Rank 4 Xyz Monster with a powerful destruction effect. Can nuke the field whenever you have less cards than your opponent, and the effect can even be chained to cards like Bottomless Trap Hole, Compulsory Evacuation Device, Torrential Tribute, etc. While it has low ATK and makes your opponent take no more damage that turn, the loss in card advantage when hit by this card's effect can potentially be devastating against some Decks, such as Pendulum-based Decks.
Evilswarm Ophion	Very powerful Rank 4 Xyz with high ATK. Can be Summoned very easily in Lswarm Decks with Evilswarm Castor, Evilswarm Kerykeion, Evilswarm Mandrago, and Rescue Rabbit. Seals special Summons of Level 5 or higher monsters, and can add any Infestation Spell/Trap card from the Deck to the hand, mainly Infestation Pandemic and Infestation Infection.
Exiled Force	Key to the Warrior Toolbox Deck which was once topping. This represented 1-for-1 monster removal, a rare sight in the early competitive scene.
Firewall Dragon	Powerful FTK, swarm, and Extra Link enabler, to the extent that being able to Summon it can effectively guarantee a win. Its first effect bounces both your cards and your opponent's, removing their defenses while allowing you to recycle on-Summon effects that aren't a hard once-per-turn, including Grinder Golem (Forbidden), or itself when used in multiples. Also allows you to recycle handtraps from the Graveyard. Allows a free Summon when a monster it points to is sent to the GY by any means, making it even more suited to Extra Link shenanigans or FTK strategies. Is the sole reason why several cards have been on the list at all. Its new functional erratum now made both effects have a "hard once-per-turn" restriction and the second effect now only Special Summons a Cyberse monster instead of any monster from the hand, completely eliminating its past degenerate strategies it once had.
Formula Synchron	Easily Summoned with cards like Glow-Up Bulb and Tokens made by Dandylion. An instant +1. Crazy when comboed with T.G. Hyper Librarian, who is Limited in the OCG. Can even be used for a Synchro Summon during the opponent's turn.
Galatea, the Orcust Automaton	A key step in the "Orcust Combo", and was hit to limit the effectiveness of that combo. Searches Orcust Crescendo, and is a valid Link Material to make Dingirsu, the Orcust of the Evening Star. However, Orcust have faded out of the meta due to the banning of Knightmare Mermaid
Genex Ally Birdman	An universal Tuner that can be Special Summoned easily. Creates loops and even OTKs generating lots of monsters in Karakuris, Agents, Hieratics, and other Decks if used right. Combos very well with Divine Wind of Mist Valley (which is also Limited). Also part of the Gallis OTK and Divine Wind FTK, though these strategies have since faded away from the metagame.
Girsu, the Orcust Mekk-Knight	A starter of the Orcust strategy, providing up to three monsters on the user's field for Link plays, usually by using its effect to dump Orcust Harp Horror, then use its effect to generate a Token before using the effect of Harp Horror. Formerly Limited when Orcust was still strong in the OCG metagame, but Orcust has faded out of the meta.
Gladiator Beast Bestiari	Required to Summon Gladiator Beast Gyzarus, and as a key means of S/T removal. However, Gladiator Beasts haven't done much in a long time, so it came down to 3.
Goblin Zombie	Very good searcher. In a Zombie Deck, it can be more abusable than Sangan or Witch of the Black Forest because of their revival power. Not many people would use 3 anyways and zombie Decks aren't topping anymore.
Gorz the Emissary of Darkness	Stops OTKs AND Special Summons a good Token. Turns games around with no real effort. However, it no longer sees any competitve use.
Goyo Guardian	Very high ATK for a Level 6 Synchro Monster. Good effect. Summons the opponent's monster right away after destroying it by battle so it can be used for Synchro/Xyz Summons. Now it has an erratum that now makes it only Summonable by EARTH Tuner monsters. Even prior to that, its effect was eventually considered too slow to pull off in the current meta; plus the three successive formats following it (Xyz, Pendulum, and Link) weren't as exploitable by its effect, and in the case of the latter two, impossible; so it was inevitably going to come off anyway.
Graff, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss	Can Special Summon any Burning Abyss monster from your Deck whenever it's sent to the Graveyard, allowing you to Xyz Summon another Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss, Synchro Summon Virgil, Rock Star of the Burning Abyss, or set-up for Fire Lake of the Burning Abyss. Can be searched by Tour Guide from the Underworld (also Limited in the TCG; see below) and reused by Cir, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss or Dante. However, Burning Abyss has since fallen out of the metagane.
Grandsoil the Elemental Lord	Uniquely among "Elemental Lord" cards, its activated effect was originally not a hard once-per-turn, which allowed for infinite loops. For example: with the proper setup, Firewall Dragon (now Forbidden) could return this card to the hand, then be used to Special Summon another Firewall Dragon. This card can then Special Summon itself, and revive the spent Firewall Dragon, which also resets its bounce effect. It could also be looped with cards such as Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier (Limited) and Mist Valley Shaman. This card has since been errata'd to add this restriction.
Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest	Before, it could be Special Summoned when a Beast was destroyed by battle or by a card effect. This was rather good with a relatively low cost for high ATK. Now they changed the ruling and it can't be used during the Damage Step, so destroying by battle won't Trigger its effect.
Green Gadget	Gadget Decks used to top frequently, but aren't as powerful as they once were. Most Gadget Decks wouldn't run more than 2 of each anyways.
Red Gadget
Yellow Gadget
Harmonizing Magician	Pendulum Tuner with a strong effect, and key in Pendulum Magicians. On Pendulum Summon, brings out a Pendulum Magician for free Synchro/Xyz/Link Material, an effect which wasn't made any less powerful in New Master Rule thanks to this strategy not requiring Link Monsters. Notably, doesn't have any restriction on being used as a Link Material. However, Pendulum Decks have fallen out of favor.
Honest	Amazing effect. Allows your monster to run over any other monster, and deal decent damage. Easily reused with Beckoning Light. Abusable with BLS. It has since fallen out of usage.
Ignis Heat, the True Dracowarrior	Allows easy searching and/or activation of True Draco and True King Continuous Spells directly from the Deck, though this is less devastating than Dinomight Knight, the True Dracofighter as the effects of the Continuous Spells can only be activated during the player's turn. Removed from the List due to Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King being Forbidden.
Ignister Prominence, the Blasting Dracoslayer	Was Limited in the TCG due to both of its useful effects of easily Special Summoning monsters from the Deck and its powerful removal effect, though with Pendulum Decks being no longer a strong metagame contender, the card is no longer a threat.
Infernity Archfiend	The key to Infernity Decks. Can be Special Summoned easily by its own effect or through cards such as Stygian Street Patrol or Summoner Monk. Searches any Infernity card from your Deck when Special Summoned. No once-per-turn restriction allows it to create OTKs and net multiple searches. While a powerful strategy back when it first came out in 2010s (which kept it Limited throughout that decade), it is no longer a viable competitive strategy as of the 2020s.
Injection Fairy Lily	Being a low level body that can turn itself into a 3400 ATK beatstick by paying 2000 LP, she was considered to be too strong for the format at the time. Now there are Decks other than beatdown types, so this came off.
Invoked Mechaba	Semi-generic, universal negator that is easy to Summon in several Deck types. Can be brought out quickly by Aleister the Invoker searching Invocation. Banishes the negated card rather than just destroying it, often neutralizing it for good. Can lead to lockdowns without much effort. However, Invoked do very little nowadays, so it was allowed to return.
Inzektor Dragonfly	This one card could swarm the field AND cause nasty loops in one turn with Inzektor Hornet, Inzektor Ladybug, Inzektor Hopper, or Inzektor Earwig. Second effect can be used multiple times in one turn to create OTKs. Can be searched easily with Sangan (now errata'd), Howling Insect, Insect Imitation or Transmodify (when used on Inzektor Ladybug), Inzektor Centipede, and Mystic Tomato. Can be reused with Inzektor Giga-Mantis or Inzektor Sword - Zektkaliber. The resultant Xyz swarming is much less viable in New Master Rules, and this card gradually came off the list.
Inzektor Hornet	A solid one-for-one destruction card with perks. The key to Inzektors. Easy to dump into the Graveyard with Foolish Burial, Armageddon Knight, or Dark Grepher (all now Limited in the TCG). Was primarily used to perform loops. Inzektors have since faded into irrelevance, though, and this card stayed on the list much longer than it should have according to some players.
Jinzo	Very popular early in the game's history since back then the game was slow enough to allow for monsters to be Tribute Summoned. Then the metagame picked up speed, where Special Summons became more favourable, and Jinzo dwindled in popularity due to both Royal Decree and presence of better monsters to Special Summon, so it came off the list. Naturia Bamboo Shoot is also a Tribute monster, but it also stops Spells and not just Traps, although it is less splashable.
Judgment Dragon	Can be Special Summoned easily in Lightsworns. Low cost to nuke the Field except itself. 3000 ATK. Double JD is broken, especially when they can be returned to your hand with Beckoning Light. However, in the OCG with the new Priority ruling change, the increase of anti-Special Summon cards for high Level/LIGHT (chaos) monsters, and Lightsworns not topping much might have been the reason to unlimit this.
Kozmo Dark Destroyer	The boss monster of Kozmo Decks. Can target and destroy any monster on the field when it's Summoned. While ordinarily not something worth writing home about, when paired with the lower level Kozmo monsters, it essentially becomes a form of pseudo-disruption during your opponent's turn. Quite hard to remove due to its high ATK and invulnerability to targeting effects. Also Special Summons another Kozmo monster from the Deck when it dies, and can even destroy itself to trigger this. Searchable by Kozmo Farmgirl and Kozmo Tincan, and reusable by Kozmotown and Kozmo Strawman.
Kuribandit	Splashable Level 3 monster with a good effect. Tributes itself to send the top 5 cards from your Deck to the Graveyard during the End Phase of turn it's Normal Summoned, while also retrieving 1 Spell/Trap among them (namely cards like Soul Charge, Foolish Burial, [[]], etc.) to your hand. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Lady Debug	Searches any Level 3 or lower Cyberse when Normal or Special Summoned. Used in Salamangreats as a combo starter, as Gazelle (also Limited) is a valid target for its search. Was hit to limit the consistency of the Deck. In the current metagame, Salamangreat is no longer a meta threat
Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En	Stops 1 Spell or Trap every turn. Very easily Summoned in Six Samurai. Can prevent himself from being destroyed if there's another Six Sam out. Came off the list due to the lack of Six Samurai in the meta, and the increasing prevalence of activatable Spell/Trap effects.
Light and Darkness Dragon	See Perfect Circle. Not as abusable now that Tribute Summoning strategies are considered slow.
Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner	Easy effect that special Summons a Lightsworn monster from the Graveyard. Gives uses to cards that are useless in the hand (e.g. Wulf, Lightsworn Beast). Nice mill effect. Since Lightsworns aren't topping anymore, this came off the list.
Magician of Faith	Allows the player to reuse Spells Cards, mostly ones with broken effects like Harpie's Feather Duster (Forbidden in the TCG and Limited in the OCG), Dark Hole and Soul Charge (Limited). Was part of the Goat Control and Tsukuyomi Lockdown Decks. Came off the list due to being too slow for the current metagame.
Makyura the Destructor	When sent to the Graveyard from anywhere, by any means, this card allows for Traps to be activated from the hand for the rest of the turn. A lot of Trap Cards have powerful effects that are balanced due to the fact of them needing a turn to be activated; this card removes the downside. Being an effect that doesn't activate, it bypasses a lot of negation options. Sets up OTKs and FTKs which would be impossible otherwise, such as the Dark Scorpion/Makyura OTK. Following a functional erratum in 2020 (which now requires the monster to be sent from the Monster Zone to the GY and has a "hard once-per-turn" restriction), the card never saw any use in the competitive metagame.
Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands	Adds any Ritual Spell or monster to your hand when Normal or flip Summoned. Mainly hit due to abuse in the Nekroz archetype in the OCG.
Manticore of Darkness	There is an OTK with this card (but it's too inconsistent with the current format), and it worked well with Card of Safe Return (now Forbidden).
Marauding Captain	Another important part of the Warrior Toolbox Deck. Special Summons another low-level monster when it's Normal Summoned, including Exiled Force, D.D. Warrior Lady, or another copy of itself, and you can prevent your opponent from attacking at all without any monster removal if you get 2 out.
Marshmallon	Relatively hard to kill. Instantly inflicts 1000 damage, which is quite a lot. However, Spirit Reaper went back to 3, so it was inevitable that this would also go back to 3 due to the high quantity of removal power.
Mask of Darkness	Well, Royal Oppression (now Forbidden) became Limited when this became Unlimited, not that anyone was using this card anyway. Used to be part of the Tsukuyomi Lockdown, but the strategy is no longer useful anymore in the current metagame.
Mathematician	Splashable Level 3 monster with advantage-generating effects. Can send any Level 4 or lower monster from your Deck to the Graveyard when Normal Summoned, typically one that can be revived by its own effect. Lets you draw a card when it dies in battle. Combos well with Graveyard-focused Decks, such as Shaddolls. Can also be used with Felis, Lightsworn Archer to easily Synchro Summon Black Rose Dragon or Arcanite Magician. Used to easily trigger the effect of Dandylion (Forbidden) for a quick Link-2. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Mermail Abyssgunde	Key card in Mermail Decks. Special Summons any Mermail from your Graveyard when discarded to the Graveyard. Good monsters it can revive include Mermail Abysspike, Mermail Abysslinde, Mermail Abyssdine, Mermail Abyssmegalo, Mermail Abyssteus, or Mermail Abyssleed for easy combos and Xyz Summons. Can be searched by Mermail Abyssteus (below) and reused with Salvage or Mermail Abyssturge. Came off the TCG list due to the lack of Mermails in the current meta.
Mermail Abyssteus	Key card in Mermail Decks. Can be Special Summoned easily. Adds any Level 4 or lower Mermail monster from your Deck to your hand when Summoned by its effect. Can be searched easily with Abyss-sphere and reused with Abyss-squall or Mermail Abyssgunde (above).
Mezuki	Creates +1 Summons. Effect is easy to pull off and reuse. Staple in almost any Zombie Deck to generate loops and OTKs. Easily searchable with Foolish Burial or Lavalval Chain, and reusable with Burial from a Different Dimension. Was Unlimited since Zombies are no longer as good as they once were.
Morphing Jar #2	A very potent field-disruptor, freezing the Battle Phase and eating up Nomis, Tribute Summoned monsters, and Extra Deck monsters the moment it is flipped while resetting the field. Can create outrageous OTKs/FTKs, especially with All-Out Attacks or Jackpot 7. However, this strategy is no longer viable in the current metagame.
Necroface	Macro Cosmos Decks of any sort LOVE this card. Has the potential of being a powerful beater and resets and/or sets up banished cards. Abusable with Gold Sarcophagus, Allure of Darkness, and Pot of Desires. Combined with Soul Absorption is a free 5500 LP gained when banished. Having multiple copies can loop them, chain their own effects when banished from the Deck, or make OTKs (Necro Mill OTK). Combos EXTREMELY well with Inferno Tempest, Shiranuis, and PSY-Framelord Omega (below). However, these strategies have not topped in the current competitve metagame.
Necro Gardna	Easily used in Lightsworns, and reused with Burial from a Different Dimension. Lightsworns have not been topping lately due to their relative inconsistency, so this was Unlimited to give them a chance in the current meta though modern Lightsworn builds no longer use this card.
Nekroz of Brionac	Key card in Nekroz. Simply by discarding itself, it can search effectively ANY Nekroz card (including Spells, thanks to Nekroz of Clausolas). Can also be Summoned to return up to 2 monsters Special Summoned from the Extra Deck back to the Deck, easily clearing the field. Nekroz have fallen into irrelevance, so it came back at 3.
Nekroz of Unicore	Key card in Nekroz. Can negate the effects of any monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, and can recycle any Nekroz card from the Graveyard. Combos extremely well with Nekroz Kaleidomirror to send Herald of the Arc Light from your Extra Deck to the Graveyard to search out any Ritual Monster or Ritual Spell from your Deck. However, Nekroz have fallen into irrelevance.
Neo-Spacian Grand Mole	Can create locks, especially with Kaiser Colosseum (Forbidden in the TCG). Easily takes out boss monsters, particularly those with specialized Summoning requirements, and does not destroy or target. However, it needs to battle to use its effect, and is not used that often now anyway.
Night Assailant	Was Limited to prevent recycling another copy of itself when discarded and an infinite loop of free discard fodder for various effects. Its recent erratum as well as the current level of the metagame made it non-problematic for the forseeable future.
Number 11: Big Eye	Very powerful Rank 7 Xyz Monster. Good effect. Can permanently take any opponent's monster, with no restriction about how it can be used, although it can't attack the turn it uses its effect. Came back to 3 since the main Decks that Summoned this so easily are dead (Dragon Rulers) or irrelevant (Spellbooks, Mermails).
Orcust Harp Horror	A key part of the "Orcust combo". Summons any Orcust directly from the Deck while it is in the GY, an effect which can be activated during your opponent's turn with the help of Orcustrated Babel. While Orcust dominated the metagame in 2019, which led to this card being Forbidden in the TCG (and Limited in the OCG), Orcust strategies have long fallen out of the competitive scene as of its (TCG) Unlimited status post-2024.
Performage Damage Juggler	Insanely splashable utility. Key card in Performage Decks. Can negate burn effects or stop OTKs from hand while providing crazy consistency to any Deck running Performages from Graveyard. Mainly hit due to Performage Performapal (PePe) Decks that were topping everywhere though it has come off when the decks were no longer topping (due to Performage Plushfire still being banned and the gameplay revisions post-Master Rule 4 severely crippling Pendulum Decks as a whole).
Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer	This card played a pivotal role in Performapal Pendulum Decks, as it could search out key Performapal cards while triggering the effects of monsters such as Performage Plushfire and Guiding Ariadne. It could also be used to Summon Performage Trapeze Magician, leading to easy OTKs. However, Performapal/Odd-Eyes/Magician Pendulum Decks have not seen competitive play ever since.
Performapal Skullcrobat Joker	A Stratos for Performapals, Odd-Eyes and Magicians. It can single-handedly set up a Pendulum Summon by searching Performapal Monkeyboard (Limited) or vice-versa, and can search Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer to further thin the Deck and set plays up. The list of combos this card enables means the fact that it requires a Normal Summon for its search effect ultimately doesn't matter. However, Performapal/Odd-Eyes/Magician Pendulum Decks have not seen competitive play ever since.
Phantom of Chaos	Was formerly abused in Sky Scourge Norleras Decks. Once those Decks stopped doing well, this was allowed to go back to 3.
Plaguespreader Zombie	Universal reusable Tuner. Its downside can be overridden by playing a search card afterwards, thus shuffling your Deck. Was taken off the list due to zombie/Synchro Decks that used this not topping anymore.
Protector of the Sanctuary	Formerly abused with things like Time Seal and Yata-Garasu as an additional layer of insurance for such a lock since the opponent could only break the lock by drawing with a card effect. Time Seal and Yata-Garasu soon got Forbidden, leaving no reason to limit Protector of the Sanctuary.
Qliphort Scout	Adds any "Qli" card from your Deck to your hand once per turn, by paying 800 LP. Since that's just its Pendulum Effect, it's also treated as a Normal Monster so it can be searched easily itself via Summoner's Art, or with Saqlifice (Limited). However, Qli decks sunk to irrelevance due to New Master Rules making their Pendulum/Tribute Summon gimmick extremely difficult to pull off.
Raiza the Storm Monarch	A key part of Monarch Decks which were Tier 1 at the time of its Limiting. Decks have become much faster since, and the permanent removal provided by Caius the Shadow Monarch is considered to be superior now.
Reborn Tengu	Replaces itself when it leaves the field. Doesn't care about being Banished or Bounced, though it does when Spinned or used as Xyz Material. Abusable in Synchro/Link Decks. A similar case to Destiny HERO - Malicious.
Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon	Absurdly easy to Summon, with high ATK, and costless +1. Splashable in any Dragon Deck. Particularly problematic when used with Inferno Reckless Summon in Hieratics (which will Summon it with 0 ATK and make it IRS-legal.) Needed to be hit because most Dragon Decks were topping. Can be searched easily with Eclipse Wyvern. Being easily Summoned and Level 10, it makes it easy to Xyz Summon high Rank monsters such as Number 81: Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Super Dora and the other Rank 10 Trains. Finally Forbidden in the OCG after abuse in Guardragons, which pretty much sealed its fate. However, its functional erratum in 2020 added "hard once-per-turn" restrictions to both its Summoning condition and its Summoning effect, hammering much of its past broken levels of utility.
Reflect Bounder	At the time they Limited this, Chaos Decks were Tier 1. The Envoys were also Forbidden at this time, but they realized that this didn't really need to be hit as hitting the Envoys was enough, so this later this came off.
Rescue Cat	Instant +1. Abusable by Gladiator Beasts, Naturias, Wind-Ups, Flamvells, Fableds, Madolches, Raccoons, and especially X-Sabers. Formerly Forbidden due to not having a once per turn restriction for its effect and not negating the effects of the Summoned monsters, allowing for easy OTKs with cards such as Uniflora, Mystical Beast of the Forest. Now, it can only be used once per turn and it negates the effects of the Summoned monsters. Can easily be searched with Summoner Monk.
Rescue Rabbit	Super splashable in many Decks. Fire Fists, Evilswarms, Gem-Knights, Gladiator Beasts, and more all can use this for instant Rank 4 Xyz or Fusion Summons. Key card of Dino Rabbit Decks.
Ritual Beast Ulti-Cannahawk	Key Fusion Monster in Ritual Beast Decks. Can search any Ritual Beast card. Generates huge card advantage by repeatedly fusing and de-fusing to use its effect multiple times, which was the initial reason why it was Limited in the TCG. However, the Ritual Beast strategy is too slow in the current metagame
Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys	At the time when it was Limited, destruction effects were the metagame, especially with Gadget Decks using it to the fullest extent possible. Nephthys could come back persistently, destroying backrow at the same time. Then the metagame picked up speed with both chainable Traps and Banishment Decks becoming more popular and widespread. Since then, Nephthys' usefulness has died down considerably, and is really only seen nowadays splashed in with Fire Kings.
Salamangreat Gazelle	Key card in Salamangreats. Summoned when a Salamangreat monster is sent to the Graveyard by any means, which is usually done by Link Summoning Salamangreat Balelynx (thereby searching Sanctuary). On Summoning, allows the user to dump any Salamangreat card they desire, making it highly versatile in the Deck. Even when fully loosened, Salamangreat is no longer a topping strategy in the current metagame.
Salamangreat Miragestallio	Can Special Summon Salamangreat monsters from the Deck. Was Forbidden in the TCG as a means of hitting the Salamangreat strategy when they were dominant in the metagame, though that time has since passed.
Samsara Lotus	No once-per-turn restriction on its Summon. Used in another Topologic Bomber Dragon FTK, where Trickstar Black Catbat (which inflicts 200 damage to the opponent each time a monster it point to is destroyed) would be co-linked with Knightmare Cerberus (making both immune to Topologic), and Lotus revived to the other zone pointed by Black Catbat and destroyed repeatedly, burning the other player to death. However, this strategy doesn't seem to be consistent with the variety of disruptions available in the current metagame.
Sangan	Universal searcher. Easily searched by Tour Guide From the Underworld and reused by Crane Crane. Adds a ton of consistency. Now it can only search once per turn, and prevents you from using the effects of the added card that turn.
Scarm, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss	Key searcher in Burning Abyss Decks. Searches any Level 3 DARK Fiend monster during the end phase of when it's sent to the Graveyard, mainly another Burning Abyss monster or Tour Guide from the Underworld.
Senju of the Thousand Hands	Ultimately less versatile than Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands (above), but that did not stop Nekroz decks abusing it until they were phased out of the meta, at which point decks using Rituals were no longer in the meta.
Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz	Key card in Nekroz. Can be used to easily Ritual Summon the otherwise difficult to Summon higher-Level Nekroz Ritual Monsters, and even searches any Warrior-Type Nekroz Ritual Monster on top of that. Can be searched easily with Nekroz of Brionac or Reinforcement of the Army and reused by Nekroz of Unicore or Dance Princess of the Nekroz (after banished by Nekroz of Valkyrus or one of the Nekroz Ritual Spell Cards). However, Nekroz sees little use nowadays.
Sinister Serpent	Free discard for costs, etc. Turns discarding into a +0. Really annoying to be against with The Dark Door. Can be sent from your Deck to the Graveyard through Foolish Burial (Limited). Now, it'll banish itself from your Graveyard at the end of your opponent's turn if it's still there by then, unless cards like Imperial Iron Wall and Chaos Hunter are active.
Sky Striker Ace - Kagari	Link-1 with a strong effect. Recovers any Sky Striker Spell, which is usually Hornet Drones, Engage!, or Widow Anchor, which due to lacking any once-per-turn restriction can all be immediately put to use again. With Sky Striker no longer a meta threat this was released.
Snipe Hunter	Formerly abused in Gadget Decks due to massive hand advantage to fuel its effect. The lack of Gadget Decks around, as well as the speed of the modern game resulted in it coming off the list.
Spirit Reaper	Can't be destroyed by battle, but unlike Marshmallon, it destroys itself the moment it is targeted. Its other effect is great, except against Dark World, which is not relevant. Came of the list due to its lack of use in the meta.
Spore	Related to Glow-Up Bulb. Universal Tuner. Very potent Level altering effect. It is currently unknown why this card didn't go to Unlimited in the September 2012 format (its effect can only be used once per Duel, so no one ran more than one).
SPYRAL GEAR - Drone	Key card in SPYRALs. Rearranges the top 3 cards of the opponent's Deck upon being Summoned, eliminating any guesswork on the player's part for big plays, unless your opponent plays a searcher immediately afterwards. Can Tribute itself to permanently boost the ATK of a SPYRAL by 500 for each card your opponent controls, even during the Damage Step. Lastly, it can banish itself and another SPYRAL card from your Graveyard to retrieve SPYRAL Super Agent, preparing set-up for future plays. Was Limited to restrict its benefits being a Machine Duplication target, thereby allowing easy Link boards to be built.
Star Seraph Sovereign	Key card in the Seraph engine. Allows for easy combos, pluses, and Rank 4 Xyz Summons when used in combination with other Seraph cards or tellarknights.
Summoner Monk	Great searcher. Was originally hit because it could grab Rescue Cat, who is now also Unlimited due to its erratum. Combos well with Sacred Crane, as well as Shaddolls, Tellarknights, Star Seraphs and Elemental HERO's Shadow Mist or Stratos. Easy Rank 4 Xyz Monster/Level 8 Synchro Monster.
Supreme King Dragon Darkwurm	Its Special Summoning effect is used in Pendulum Magicians and several other Pendulum focused Decks as a way to get Heavymetalfoes Electrumite out easily without using the Pendulum Summon, which enables plays involving Double Iris Magician. Was initially Limited in the OCG, but was loosen off the lists gradually as Pendulum Decks have fallen out of the metagame past their peak.
T.G. Striker	A Cyber Dragon-like Level 2 Tuner. Can start fast Synchro Summoning variety without using the Normal Summon. Came off the list due to its lack use in the Meta.
The Agent of Mystery - Earth	The Stratos equivalent for Agents. It's also a Tuner. Came off the list due to Agents not being relevant anymore.
The Phantom Knights of Rusty Bardiche	Highly versatile, allowing the setup of many disruptive plays. Summoning condition requires only DARK monsters, allowing it to be accessed with cards like Orcust, Danger!, Burning Abyss, etc. Searches 2 Phantom Knights cards straight out of your Deck without any cost. A typical combo is to dump The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots - which, when banished, can search Phantom Knights' Fog Blade - and Set another Fog Blade, for two monster negates. It can also search The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Launch which leads to serious disruption when combined with the likes of Azathot, Kali Yuga or True King of All Calamities. Access to destruction when you Special Summon a DARK Xyz Monster. Nowadays, with Outer Entity Azathot Forbidden, the meta has since already moved on past this engine.
The Phantom Knights of Torn Scales	The key starter of the Phantom Knights archetypal engine. Was hit in the OCG when Adventurer Token + Phantom Knight decks were topping, though the deck fell out of relevance once all of the important Adventurer Token cards were hit.
Thousand-Eyes Restrict	Has a once powerful lockdown effect. Was part of the Goat Control Deck. Easily Fusion Summoned with Instant Fusion. Easily revived because of its low ATK and low Level (e.g. Graceful Revival and Limit Reverse). You can use Instant Fusion, use its effect, then Tribute it for a Monarch. However, this is rather slow for the current meta, so it came back to 3.
Thunder Dragonhawk	Thunder Dragons' primary extender. Special Summons any TD from the Graveyard by discarding, creating combos that lead to multiple Thunder Dragon Colossus on field for a lockdown. With Colossus at 1, Thunder Dragons were no longer a meta threat. Formerly Limited in the OCG.
Thunder Dragonroar	Pulls Thunder Dragons directly from the Deck when it's sent to the GY (typically for the Summon of Colossus). Allows for the recovery of banished TDrags as well. Hit in the first OCG format with Danger!/Thunder Dragon fusion Decks. This card is Unlimited in the TCG.
Thunder King Rai-Oh	Low Level, high ATK, seals search effects, and can negate a Built-in Special Summon. Great counter against most current Decks in the meta, which rely on both of the above. There are methods of getting around it, however.
Tour Guide From the Underworld	Good searcher. Quickly Summons Rank 3 Xyz Monsters by Summoning another copy of itself or another Level 3 Fiend monster. Good monsters it was used to quickly Summon include Leviair the Sea Dragon, Number 17: Leviathan Dragon, Wind-Up Zenmaines, and Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction. It saw little use after Sangan, this card's main target, got Forbidden, so it came off the list, but was put back on the list later due to abuse in the Burning Abyss archetype in the TCG, where it can Summon almost any Burning Abyss monster from your Deck to easily make Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss. However, Burning Abyss is no longer a meta threat.
Tragoedia	Stops OTKs AND has other great effects. Can get very strong, can take opponent's monsters, or even alter its own Level for Synchro/Xyz shenanigans.
Treeborn Frog	Yes it's a free Tribute, but you can only activate 1 anyway. So, Limiting isn't going to do much. Semi-Limit is still OK because the new removal cards tend to remove 2 at once.
Tri-Brigade Fraktall	The main starter of the Tri-Brigade combo, whose effect can mill Tri-Brigade Kitt, which can then mill Tri-Brigade Nervall, then Nervall can search a Tri-Brigade monster. This sets up enough Tri-Brigade monsters in the GY to use one of the on-field effects to cheat our their versatile Link Monsters. Was Semi-Limited while Tri-Brigade decks were topping in the OCG although they are no longer present in the metagame.
Tribe-Infecting Virus	Either a Lightning Vortex on legs or a Snipe Hunter on steroids. Most powerful against Decks that consist of a single Type. No once-per-turn restriction allows the possibility to clear the entire field for trivial effort. Tribe-Shocking Virus was designed to be a more balanced version. Can be searched easily with Summoner Monk. Capable of powerful combos in Atlanteans. As the game evolved however, this effect is considered too slow for the current metagame and monster destruction is no longer a devestating threat as it once was.
Trickstar Candina	Searches Trickstar Reincarnation on its Normal Summon, which is bad enough in itself. When left out, it seriously limits your opponent's options, as they could be put into kill range by any Spell/Trap they activate. However, Trickstar are no longer meta.
True King Lithosagym, the Disaster	Can generate excellent advantage due to its interactions with other cards. By destroying cards like "Babycerasaurus", "Baobaboon", "Petiteranodon", and other "True Kings", the cost of Summoning this card is effectively nullified. True King of All Calamities can even go a step further by making that cost an efficient nuking tactic in an open game state. Additionally, it can banish three cards from the opponent's Extra Deck of your choice, which is not only rare among others like it, but devastating for Link Summoning Decks. It also revives a non-EARTH Wyrm when destroyed by a card effect, which is easy to trigger.
Tsukuyomi	Reusable Book of Moon effect. Was part of the Tsukuyomi Lockdown, but not anymore with Time Seal Forbidden. Not as good as it once was, so it came off the list.
Twin-Headed Behemoth	Monarch Decks used to run 3 at the time, keeping a monster to Tribute on the field whether it was destroyed by battle or by a card effect. Then a new ruling was made: "The effect of "Twin-Headed Behemoth" can only be used ONCE throughout the entirety of the Duel. Even if your Deck includes three copies of the card, between those three copies the effect can only be used once, not once each." This card became Unlimited after that ruling was released, and Monarchs then received Treeborn Frog (see above) and that replaced this card, even if the ruling wasn't made.
Vampire Lord	Was Limited for the same reasons as Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys above, being a strong card that just wouldn't go away in a time when effect destruction was the meta. Its effect could prove highly disruptive back when Graveyard effects were uncommon, but is now mediocre.
Wind-Up Magician	Summons a Wind-Up monster from the Deck whenever a Wind-Up Monster’s effect activates. The "Once while face-up on the field" restriction is easily overridden by Summoning another copy of itself and activating another effect afterwards. Crazy when comboed with Wind-Up Shark. Can be searched easily with Summoner Monk and Wind-Up Factory. Creates easy Xyz Summons. It can clog up your available Monster Zones when overused, though.
Wind-Up Shark	Can be special Summoned whenever another Wind-Up monster is Summoned. Can be searched easily by Summoner Monk and Wind-Up Factory. Works very well with Wind-Up Magician (Limited in the TCG). Creates easy Rank 3-5 Xyz Summons.
Windwitch - Ice Bell	Can Special Summon itself whenever you control no monsters, and can then Special Summon "Windwitch - Glass Bell" from your Deck (which can then search and Special Summon "Windwitch - Snow Bell"). Afterwards, you can Synchro Summon "Windwitch - Winter Bell" with this card and "Glass Bell", and then "Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon" with "Winter Bell" and "Snow Bell", which will be immune to destruction by card effects due to "Snow Bell".
Wisdom-Eye Magician	Key card in the Magician Pendulum engine. Can destroy itself to search ANY Magician Pendulum Monster in its place, while stashing itself away later for a Rank 4 Xyz or Odd-Eyes Fusion Summon. Can be searched easily with Pendulum Call or Performapal Skullcrobat Joker (also Limited) or Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and easily reused with Nobledragon Magician.
Witch of the Black Forest	Much more powerful than its counterpart Sangan, since it's able to search out strong key monsters such as Dark Armed Dragon, Monarchs, Fire Fists, Hieratics, Bujins, Thunder King Rai-Oh, etc. AND most of the cards Sangan can search. Can be searched easily itself with Summoner Monk and some of the Prophecy/Spellbook cards. Dropped off the list due to an erratum that prevents you from using the effects of the added card that turn, similarly to Sangan.
Yata-Garasu	One of the very first cards to be put on the banlist, and the only one of the original Forbidden cards that still remains banned in all regions today. Easily prevents a player who is behind on resources from ever recovering. Under very specific circumstances, it can even prevent a player from making a move for the rest of the Duel (see Yata-Garasu Lockdown). Can be searched easily by Aratama and Tour Bus To Forbidden Realms. However, the lockdown strategy is no longer viable due to the much larger card pool which can easily counter the strategy.
A Hero Lives	Generates OTKs, with a cost you can always pay. Can be used with Elemental HERO Stratos who then searches for a suitable HERO monster to swarm the field without using the Normal Summon or Elemental HERO Shadow Mist, who searches Mask Change or Mask Change II (Limited in the OCG) to have access to Masked HERO Dark Law. With HERO decks no longer seeing serious play at competitive events, this came up to 3.
Advanced Ritual Art	See Heralds combo and Demise/Doom OTK Decks where Ritual Summoning by sending monsters from the Deck to the GY was powerful at the time. Not as broken as it used to be since the game got faster and the requirement of having to use a Normal Monster for this card (which most decks don't use nowadays).
Black Whirlwind	Gives major hand advantage to Blackwing Decks. However, Blackwings haven't been competitive in the meta in a long time, so it was brought back to 3.
Book of Moon	The ability to flip any monster face-down with no cost is powerful and versatile, making this a true Swiss Army card. Allows for quick reuse of on-Flip effects, which was a key part of the Empty Jar deck during its heyday. Became even more powerful with the removal of Ignition Effect Priority, meaning any monster with an Ignition Effect is vulnerable, as this card can just respond to its Summon and neutralise it without giving it an opportunity to activate its effect. However, this use is much less powerful against Link Monsters, as they cannot be flipped face-down. It also has a powercrept alternative, Book of Eclipse.
Book of Taiyou	Formerly abused in Empty Jar Decks to force the activation of Cyber Jar, Morphing Jar, and Morphing Jar 2. With Morphing Jar Limited, Cyber Jar Forbidden or Limited in the OCG or TCG respectively and Morphing Jar #2 Unlimited, and aren't topping elsewhere, so this came up to 3.
Brain Control	Was formerly Forbidden due to being able to take control of any face-up monster your opponent controls for the small price of 800 LP. Now, it can only affect monsters that can be Normal Summoned/Set, which some Decks might never use.
Burial from a Different Dimension	Can reuse monsters like Mezuki, Plaguespreader Zombie, Necro Gardna, Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honor, etc. Also allows a player to skip the delay on a Gold Sarcophagus search.
Card of Demise	Lets you draw until you have 3 cards in your hand. While you can't Special Summon or inflict damage for the rest of the turn it's used, you can set a lot of Traps or activate Pendulum Scales, making it useful in stun Decks that use a lot of backrow. The latter drawback can also be circumvented by inflicting as much damage as possible before activating it.
Charge of the Light Brigade	It's like ROTA (Limited), but for Lightsworns. It also mills. Lightsworns became irrelevant enough for this to drop off the list.
Creature Swap	Formerly considered too strong for the meta back when there weren't as many removal cards. Also useless if the opponent uses evasion tactics to remove your ideal monster, or if said monster requires archetype specific resources to be useful.
Dark Hole	Powerful, non-targeting removal with no cost. However, monster's floating effects and the numerous monsters and/or effects which can easily negate this card's effect or have protection against destruction card effects make it harder to play, and the more powerful Raigeki is used over it in Decks that cannot directly benefit from self-destruction.
Destiny Draw	Works very well with Destiny HERO - Malicious and is a godsend to Diamond Dude Turbo. Was a semi-universal draw engine. Lack of competitive-relevant Destiny HERO monsters in general (even in modern HERO builds) caused this card to come off the list.
Dimensional Fissure	A direct counter to Decks that are accustomed to sending monsters to the Graveyard, such as Dark World, Lightsworn, Burning Abyss, etc. Creates an attack lock with Gravekeeper's Servant. Causes loops in Ritual Beasts, and is highly beneficial to most other banish-focused decks.
Domain of the True Monarchs	A powerful Monarch support card that shuts down numerous Decks that rely on their Extra Deck. It also allows players to Summon powerful Tribute monsters such as Erebus the Underworld Monarch for only one Tribute.
Draco Face-Off	A versatile card that easily sets up a Dracoslayer Pendulum Scale OR Special Summon a Level 4 Dracoslayer monster for further plays while setting up Pendulum Summons. It can easily tutor Luster Pendulum, the Dracoslayer, which further aids Pendulum Summons while triggering the effects of monsters such as Guiding Ariadne. Since it is a Quick-Play Spell, it can also steal wins during the Battle Phase. However, Pendulum Decks are not topping in the current meta.
Dragon Ravine	Can be used to search any Level 4 or lower Dragunity from your Deck to your hand OR act as a Foolish Burial to send any Dragon from your Deck to the Graveyard for easy Graveyard setup once per turn. Can be searched easily with Terraforming (Limited in the OCG) and Metaverse. Mainly Forbidden to try to kill Dragon Rulers, but with the Dragon Rulers now Forbidden themselves, it became Unlimited again.
Dragon Shrine	A Foolish Burial for Dragons (below). Additionally, if you sent a Normal Dragon to the Graveyard with this, you can send another Dragon-type monster to the Graveyard as well. Mainly hit to slow down Dragon Rulers in the OCG but with them now Forbidden, it was Unlimited.
E - Emergency Call	Searches ANY Elemental HERO, including Stratos, who then searches another HERO. With ROTA at 1, A Hero Lives at 3, and Pot of Duality at 3, HEROs had way too much search power, and it allowed them to run ridiculously low monster counts. However, HERO and these search engine pieces are no longer a meta threat.
El Shaddoll Fusion	Key Fusion Spell in Shaddoll Decks. As Quick-Play Spell you can activate it any time you want, including the Battle Phase to make easy OTKs. Shaddolls haven't been good in a while though, and its card advantage is often unfavorable when compared to Shaddoll Fusion.
Emergency Provisions	Formerly abused with Mirage of Nightmare, which is now Forbidden. Combos well with Good Goblin Housekeeping (also Unlimited) to draw several cards from your Deck at once.
Fire Formation - Tenki	Basically Reinforcement of the Army (Limited) for Beast-Warriors. Adds lots of speed to several Decks, like Constellars, Gladiator Beasts, Wind-Ups (for Wind-Up Rabbit), Bujins, Fire Kings, Koa'ki Meirus and especially Fire Fists, where it can search just about any Beast-Warrior monster from your Deck to your hand, and can be searched easily itself with most Fire Fist cards. Can also act as fuel for Fire Fist monster's effects and gives all beast-warriors 100 ATK. Initially Unlimited due to Fire Fists not being as good as they once were, but it was put back on the list when Zoodiac and Tri-Brigade Decks were topping, but the banning of Broadbull and Drident wiped Zoodiacs out and Tri-Brigade has faded out of the metagame so now it is Unlimited again.
Fissure	A 'one for one' card that was rarely used outside of Gadget Decks, and faster Decks that could cope were made, so this came off.
Future Fusion	Allows for massive Graveyard setup, particularly using Machines, Dragons, Worms, Zombies, and Infernoids, where Chimeratech Overdragon, Five-Headed Dragon, Worm Zero, Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon and Infernoid Tierra respectively can allow for a large number of monsters of the player's choice to be dumped. Both HEROs and Fluffals abuse this with Miracle Fusion and Frightfur Fusion, respectively. However, this card now has an erratum so that it must send the Fusion Materials during the Standby Phase after it is activated, making it slower and easier to remove.
Hieratic Seal of Convocation	Similar to E - Emergency Call, but with Hieratics. Opening with it pretty much meant you would OTK.
Interrupted Kaiju Slumber	Similar to Dark Hole, but can also Special Summon as many Kaiju monsters as possible to either player's field, allowing for multiple different combos and OTKs. Prior to the erratum of the latter, it allowed for an easy 3300 damage by Special Summoning Super Anti-Kaiju War Machine Mecha-Dogoran to the opponent's field. Can also search any Kaiju on a later turn for spot removal, and be searched by The Kaiju Files.
Level Limit - Area B	Excellent stalling device for no cost, effectively locking out most Decks that use lots of high-Level monsters. However, it does not affect Xyz Monsters, also most stall cards are bad now. Similar to Gravity Bind, which also went back to 3.
Lightning Vortex	Limited due to abuse with Sinister Serpent for cheap frying of the opponent's face-up monsters. It still saw some abuse since there were 2 Night Assailants still on the list. It finally came off the Limited status after Night Assailant hit 1 on the next list.
Limiter Removal	Creates easy OTKs in Machine Decks. Destruction during the End Phase is avoidable when you can perform Synchro/Xyz/Link Summons with the monsters. Not used nowadays.
Mage Power	Was considered too strong back when beatsticks won Duels on their own. Equip cards are considered slow now and they most likely won't stick around with S/T removal cards being popular these days.
Magical Stone Excavation	Allows quick reuse of major Spell Cards. Its heavy cost is often circumvented in Diamond Dude Turbo Decks. Empty Jar Decks love this, but with Morphing Jar #2 and Morphing Jar Forbidden in the TCG, those Decks are unplayable now, so it came off the list.
Megamorph	Doubling original ATK can be a lot, sometimes enough to OTK. The drawback of halving ATK when you have more LP isn't too bad either as you can always equip it to your opponent's monsters. However, Equip Spells are still bad and have gotten worse now with s/t removal, also beatsticks don't mean as much anymore.
Mind Control	Unlike Change of Heart, you can't attack with or Tribute the monster, but you can still use its effects and it still can be removed for a Fusion/Synchro/Xyz/Link Summon. Began to see heavy use in the late stages of New Master Rule to steal for a free Link Material. Netherless, even this card is powercrept due to Change of Heart no longer being Forbidden and the addition of Triple Tactics Talent which can do the same thing (and serve for other effects). Any cards which just changed a monster's control in general being considered lackluster as a going second Side Deck card at best.
Monster Gate	Has the potential to set up the Graveyard with a large number of monsters. Used a lot by Turbo and OTK Decks. Abusable in Hieratics and Infernoids.
Mystical Space Typhoon	Very effective staple which trades 1 for 1 Spell/Trap. While extremely useful for the first decade of the card game's lifespan, however, this card has been powercrept by more modern alternatives for Spell/Trap removal (namely Twin Twisters and Cosmic Cyclone, and Harpie's Feather Duster is no longer Forbidden).
Nadir Servant	Dogmatika's main searcher and recovery tool. Can send Extra Deck monsters with useful GY effects such as Elder Entity N'tss. In particular, it can send El Shaddoll Apkallone which can search Shaddoll Schism to facilitate the Fusion Summon of El Shaddoll Winda or El Shaddoll Construct during the opponent's turn.
Nekroz Cycle	Key Ritual Spell in Nekroz Decks. In addition to being able to Ritual Summon any Nekroz Ritual Monster from your Graveyard (allowing easy use of both of their effects) as well as your hand, it can also banish itself and 1 Nekroz monster from your Graveyard to add 1 more Nekroz Spell Card from your Deck to your hand if you control no monsters.
Nobleman of Crossout	Was formerly considered to be too powerful back when most Decks couldn't do more than set a monster before ending their turn. Like Fissure (above), faster Decks that could cope with one for one cards like this were made over time, also due to decks rarely setting monsters so this later came off the list.
Overload Fusion	Back then, Future Fusion comboed with this to provide a large beatstick; nowadays, beatsticks don't mean as much as they once did, and Future Fusion has been slowed down.
Pantheism of the Monarchs	A superior Destiny Draw for Monarchs that thins the Deck while drawing out key cards and dumping cards such as The Prime Monarch. The player can also banish this card from the Graveyard afterwards to search another Monarch Spell/Trap card, even in the turn it was activated. Can also be searched with Tenacity of the Monarchs. This card also played a key role in Monarch Magical Explosion deep draw FTKs.
Pendulum Call	Sets up easy Pendulum Summons with Magician monsters while protecting the player's Pendulum Scales from cards such as Twin Twisters and Wavering Eyes.
Pot of Avarice	Recycles the Graveyard while adding draw power. Almost/just as easy to use as Pot of Greed (see below). Excellent in certain Decks, recycling cards like Reborn Tengu, Gadgets, Wind-Ups, etc. Can also put Extra Deck monsters back, leaving you with no Graveyard set-up disadvantage and letting you reuse Limited Extra Deck monsters. Plants abused this card, but the March 2012 lists killed Plant Synchro. Pot of Dichotomy was designed to be a fair version of this card.
Pot of Duality	Lets you choose one of the 3 top cards of your Deck without losing hand advantage. Sets up for big plays. Adds a lot of consistency. As modern decks now Special Summon a lot, this card fell out of favor.
Preparation of Rites	Adds any Level 7 or lower Ritual Monster from your Deck to your hand, and can recycle a Ritual Spell card from your Graveyard. Mainly hit due to abuse with Nekroz. Pre-Preparation of Rites was designed to be a more balanced version of this card.
Rank-Up-Magic Argent Chaos Force	Forbidden due to abuse in quickly Summoning Number S0: Utopic ZEXAL to lock down the opponent. As it can return itself to the hand from the GY, it can be easily sent to the Graveyard by effects like Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal (Limited in the TCG) and Foolish Burial Goods, then returned to the hand by Special Summoning a Rank 5 or higher monster (easily accomplished by using Beatrice as material to Xyz Summon Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger). Finally came off in the same list which made Utopic ZEXAL Forbidden.
Rekindling	Can Special Summon as many FIRE monsters from your Graveyard with 200 DEF as possible. Powerful plays with it include reviving multiple copies of Laval monsters like Volcano Handmaiden, Magma Cannoneer, Lancelord, Forest Sprite (which can all be easily sent to the Graveyard via Molten Conduction Field) to easily Synchro Summon Shooting Quasar Dragon or Red Nova Dragon, Brotherhood of the Fire Fists Spirit and Leopard to Synchro Summon another Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Horse Prince, Fire King monsters like Avatar Yaksha and Avatar Barong to make easy Rank 4 Xyz Summons, and Infernoid Decatron, to dump multiple Infernoids in the GY while enabling Link Summons, allowing further branching plays. Finally dropped off the list after Decks that used it gradually fell to irrelevance.
Rite of Aramesir	The centerpiece of the Adventurer series; this card is the source of Summoning Adventurer Token and can then place Fateful Adventure to the field, which then can search (and Special Summon) Wandering Gryphon Rider which has an omni-negate effect. This card is searchable via Water Enchantress of the Temple which can be milled. Paired well with a variety of Decks during its prime, although Wandering Gryphon Rider's ban in the OCG killed this engine's splashability.
Royal Tribute	Powerful hand destruction for Gravekeepers. Particularly disruptive when used on the first turn, leaving one vulnerable and unable to retrieve what has been lost because of Necrovalley. This previously allowed you to see your opponent's hand by default, granting the ability to predict and pre-empt their plays, but a ruling change prevents this now.
Sacred Sword of Seven Stars	Similar to Allure of Darkness, which is Semi-Limited in the TCG, but could be abused with Dragon Ruler monsters to trigger their effects when banished by this card's effect. However, with the Dragon Rulers now Forbidden, this came back to 3.
Salamangreat Circle	Salamangreats' searcher. Can also stop an opponent's monster effects. Hit to reduce the deck's consistency. This card is Semi-Limited in the OCG.
Saqlifice	Key Spell Card in Qliphort Decks. Prevents the equipped Qliphort from being destroyed in battle, also it gains 300 ATK and is treated as 2 Tributes for the Tribute Summon of a Qliphort monster, mainly Qliphort Disk (who then Summons 2 more Qliphorts from your Deck for an easy OTK). Can also add a Qliphort Monster from your Deck to your hand when it's sent from the field to the Graveyard. Searchable and reusable via Hidden Armory.
Scapegoat	Originally placed on the list as it was an effective stall tool in the early competitive game, but the rise of widespread piercing damage limited that utility. Was part of the Goat Control Deck, but Metamorphosis is still Forbidden. Allows for easy Synchro Summons and especially Link Summons, where it can produce a Firewall Dragon (Forbidden) from just 1 card. With Goat Control decks no longer a threat in the current metagame, and the card's restriction of having to wait a turn for to be able to Summon anything else is regarded as being too slow and restrictive, the card's usage has waned.
Shien's Smoke Signal	Grabs key Samurais like Kageki and Kagemusha. Came off the list due to the lack of Six Samurais in the meta now.
Sky Striker Mecha - Widow Anchor	Generic Spell which can remove an effect that's troubling you and act as a Change of Heart, giving you a free Link Material. Came off the list due to the lack of Sky Strikers in the meta now.
Sky Striker Mecha Modules - Multirole	A generic and searchable way to make all of your Spell Card activations unanswerable, which is invaluable in Sky Strikers. Can easily be used in multiples. Recovers other Sky Striker Spells easily. Came off the list due to the lack of Sky Strikers in the meta now.
Sky Striker Mobilize - Engage!	Sky Striker's main searcher, it also provides an extra draw if you have enough Spells in your Graveyard. Can also be reused by Sky Striker Ace - Kagari (which was Limited for a time). Came off the list due to the lack of competitive use of Sky Strikers in the current meta.
Smashing Ground	Fissure became Unlimited in the format before this came down, so this followed.
Spellbook of Fate	Chainable, powerful Spell card in Prophecy Decks that can get over almost anything. Can easily banish an opponent's card without Targeting by banishing 3 Spellbook Spell cards from your Graveyard (which can act as setup for Spellbook of Eternity), or can flip Spellbook Magician of Prophecy face-down to reuse its effect again. Can be recycled with The Grand Spellbook Tower or Spellbook of Eternity (after banished with another copy of Fate or High Priestess of Prophecy).
Spellbook of Judgment	An incredible searcher for Prophecy Decks, adds several Spellbook Spell cards from your Deck to your hand during the End Phase of the turn it was activated, like Secrets, Master, Power, Fate, Wisdom, Life, Eternity, Star Hall, and Tower; for every Spell Card played. Last effect Summons great Spellcasters depending on the number searched, such as Jowgen the Spiritualist (seals Special Summons), Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer (prevents Banishing), Maiden with Eyes of Blue (stuns opponent), Justice of Prophecy (who then searches another Spellbook and High Priestess of Prophecy), Dark Magician of Chaos (who can then retrieve any Spell), and even World of Prophecy (can act like a nuke). Can be searched easily itself with Secrets, Master (copying Secrets), Spellbook Magician of Prophecy, Spellbook Library of the Crescent, and Justice of Prophecy. Can be reused with Tower, Magician of Faith (in the TCG), DMoC, Eternity (after banished with Spellbook of Fate or High Priestess of Prophecy), or Master (copying Eternity). Was considered one of the most broken Spell Cards ever made which elevated Spellbook Decks to be the most dominant deck of the 2013-2014 format alongside Dragon Rulers which eventually resulted in this card's Forbidden status. By the time of 2020s, Spellbooks have long fallen out of any competitve relevancy.
Spellbook of Knowledge	A quick draw-2. The sending to the Graveyard and the drawing happen simultaneously, so any Spellcasters' effects you trigger can't miss the timing. This means what appears to be a cost can be a direct benefit to you in the right Deck. Part of a highly splashable draw engine involving it, Spellbook Magician of Prophecy, and Spellbook of Secrets.
Spellbook of Secrets	Can search any Spellbook card with a different name of it, though you can only activate 1 per turn. Part of the draw engine involving Spellbook of Knowledge (above).
SPYRAL Resort	Key card in SPYRALs. Protects SPYRALs from the opponent's card effects, and searches every turn. If going second, this enables easy OTKs. Its maintenance cost of shuffling cards back into the Deck just lets them be searched again, so is effectively not a cost. While loosened off, SPYRAL will likely not see play in the TCG as long as SPYRAL Master Plan is Forbidden.
Super Rejuvenation	Amazing draw card. Makes strong discard-and-draw cards even stronger. Offsets the costs of certain card effects. Can draw out most of your Deck in one turn if used right since it can be used multiple times per turn. Abusable in deep draw Decks using Dragons as an engine. Was banned in the TCG as a result of Dragon Ruler format, and stayed that way for a long time despite the OCG seeing little use for it otherwise, even in Guardragons. Trial and Tribulation was designed to be a fair version of this card.
Swords of Revealing Light	Stalls for quite a long time. You can still attack while the opponent cannot. However, Spell/Trap removal is plentiful now, and this card won't stick around long enough to be a valid stalling method.
Symbol of Heritage	Can revive any monster if you have 3 or more copies of that monster in your GY. Can cause loops with cards like Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier (Which is Semi-Limited in the OCG and Limited in the TCG), Ancient Fairy Dragon (Forbidden in the OCG), and can be reused with cards like Mist Valley Falcon. Searchable by Hidden Armory and Power Tool Dragon. Even easier to abuse in Cyber Dragons, Harpies, and SPYRALs, since they have multiple monsters that treat themselves identically in the GY. Was probably Limited due to most Decks in the meta being fast enough now to reach 3 copies effortlessly, or because of Lonefire Blossom coming to 3. However, this strategy is longer oppressive.
The Beginning of the End	A non-once per turn draw card that benefits any Deck that can get several DARK monsters into the Graveyard (for example, most Zombie Decks). Was hit in the OCG after abuse in deep draw strategies with Dangers but have since faded out.
The Monarchs Stormforth	Allows you to Tribute monsters your opponent controls for Tribute Summons without targeting in an open Game state. Can even be activated during your opponent's turn to disrupt their plays with Ehther the Heavenly Monarch, making Forbidden Lance the only surefire way to safeguard their field. Can be searched by Pantheism of the Monarchs(also Limited) or Tenacity of the Monarchs.
Temple of the Kings	Was formerly Forbidden due to being able to create easy Trap FTKs due to the lack of a once per turn restriction. Now the first effect has been errata'd to once per turn. Second effect is far more limited, and very hard to pull off in the current meta as consistently.
The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Launch	Quick-Play "Rank-Up-Magic" that Ranks-Up any DARK Xyz with no materials into any DARK Xyz that is 1 Rank higher. Can Summon lockdown monsters like D/D/D Duo-Dawn King Kali Yuga, True King of All Calamities, or Outer Entity Azathot to prevent the opponent from activating effects on their own turn. "Azathot" is easily Summoned with Time Thief Redoer, which can banish itself from the field and then return with no materials. Unlike most Rank-Up-Magics, this card is easily searched thanks to The Phantom Knights of Rusty Bardiche. However, Azathot and True King are Forbidden, and Phantom Knights are no longer a meta threat.
True Draco Heritage	Grants excellent advantage; it can potentially draw three cards in a turn, it can allow the player to Tribute Summon an extra monster, and if sent to the Graveyard, it can destroy a Spell/Trap, including the player's own, thereby either removing an obstacle or generating more advantage.
Union Hangar	A strong Field Spell card that can search out any LIGHT Machine Union Monster when it's activated and can also equip a LIGHT Machine Union Monster from your Deck to a LIGHT Machine Union Monster that is Normal or Special Summoned. Can be searched easily by Terraforming (Limited in the OCG). Mainly hit due to ABC Decks that were topping in the OCG, but with the likes of Ancient Fairy Dragon, Firewall Dragon, Terraforming, and ABC-Dragon Buster all hit there, they're nowhere near as much of a threat anymore.
United We Stand	Yes it makes monsters into bigger beatsticks, but with so many cards to stop it (e.g. Book of Moon, Dimensional Prison, any Spell/Trap removal at all, etc.) it came off the list.
Upstart Goblin	An inferior Pot of Greed that lets you draw 1 card, then has your opponent gain 1000 LP. The card's "drawback" of letting the opponent gain 1000 LP is often worth the extra draw power in most Decks. Previously Limited due to use in Makyura Exodia Decks until Makyura was Forbidden, but later re-Limited again after heavy play in the TCG until 2024 where by then, the metagame has shifted in favor of having hand traps in the starting hand when going second, leaving this card obsolete.
Wavering Eyes	A powerful, chainable card for and against Pendulum Decks. This card's first effect allows easy burn damage, the second effect is versatile and easy to trigger, while the third effect provides easy, generic removal. It was especially powerful in Pendulum mirror matches, where the player with Wavering Eyes can devastate their opponent's set up while furthering their own plays, or even chain their Wavering Eyes to their opponent's Wavering Eyes, effectively rendering theirs useless. However, the release of Link Monsters and New Master Rule weakened this card's power significantly, since you must use your left and right Spell and Trap zones as Pendulum Scales now, and unless you control a Link Monster, you can only Pendulum Summon monsters from your Extra Deck one at a time.
Abyss-sphere	Great searcher. Special Summons ANY Mermail from your Deck. Can quickly Summon Mermail Abyssteus, Mermail Abyssmegalo, or Mermail Abyssleed for Rank 7 Xyz plays. Works very well with Mermail Abysslinde. Can be searched easily by Mermail Abyssmegalo. The lack of Mermail Decks being competitive caused this card to leave the list.
Bottomless Trap Hole	Very powerful 1-for-1 card. Banishes the monster upon Summon. Staple in most Decks. With the removal of Ignition Priority, this card has gotten better than before. Because it says "when your opponent Summons a monster(s)," if your opponent Summons multiple monsters at once (such as a Pendulum Summon), they all get hit, although in New Master Rule this is a lot more rare than it was before. Can be searched and reused by some of the Traptrix cards.
Call of the Haunted	Much fairer speed when compared to its Spell counterparts. It can't be abused multiple times per turn (unlike Premature Burial). It can only special Summon from your own Graveyard (unlike Monster Reborn). Played a crucial role in the Dark Scorpion/Makyura OTK. Like Magic Cylinder, top Decks eventually didn't play this card much, so it probably came off the list for the same reason. Most Decks that still run it wouldn't use 3.
Ceasefire	Chainable, defuses Flip Effects, and unlike its close cousins, checks both sides of the field. With swarming of Effect Monsters being all the rage these days, Ceasefire can be particularly punishing, dealing up to 5000 damage in one shot. With the release of New Master Rule and Extra Monster Zones, the maximum possible damage has been upped even further to 6000. Was once considered the best burn card in the game.
Compulsory Evacuation Device	An easy out to most monsters, which only became more powerful with the removal of the priority system of activating Spells/Traps. Can also be used on your own monsters to save them from Dark Hole, Torrential Tribute, etc.
Crush Card Virus	Could formerly kill almost every monster your opponent had in their hand, field, and next 3 draws when it was played, but now the effect has been errata'd so that it only destroys monsters with 1500 or more ATK on the opponent's field and hand when activated, with no further Lingering Effects, while also letting the opponent destroy 3 monsters with 1500 or more ATK from their Deck, potentially setting up their Graveyard. Furthermore, the opponent takes no damage until the end of the next turn.
Deck Devastation Virus	Can take out universal searchers and the monsters they bring out. Its tribute requirement can be easily met, especially in Dark World Decks.
Dimensional Prison	Easily banishes an opponent's monster with nothing but the opponent attacking. Gets over many monsters that have destruction immunity effects, as it banishes and does not destroy. Like Mirror Force before it, the current meta's far to fast for it now.
Drop Off	This card got Limited at the same time Time Seal initially got Forbidden. Then they realized that stopping a Draw is completely different from discarding a drawn card, in Decks which use the Graveyard more often. Also unlike Time Seal, it can't be chained, meaning your opponent can't lose card advantage in their attempts to target it.
Eradicator Epidemic Virus	Lets you look at your opponent's hand for 3 turns. Stops their Spells or Traps for a long period with an easy-to-pay cost in almost all Decks, with the releases of Number 66: Master Key Beetle and Number 85: Crazy Box. Extremely abusable in Dark World Decks with Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World, in Evilswarm Decks with Evilswarm Ophion, and in Dragon Ruler Decks and their variants with Number 11: Big Eye and REDMD. Two of these together can shut down all non-monster cards.
Exchange of the Spirit	Was formerly one of the most notorious FTK cards in the game, allowing you to Deck out your opponent with this card alone once you filled your Graveyard with 15 or more cards then flipped this, or activated it on your turn if you used Makyura (Forbidden) or Temple of the Kings (also Unlimited). Now, it can only be used once per Duel, and can only be used when both players have 15 or more cards in their Graveyard, not just you.
Geargiagear	Key card in Geargia Decks. Special Summons any two Geargiano monsters from your Deck at no cost, and it also increases their Levels by 1 for easy Rank 4 Xyz Summons, or for Synchro Summons with Karakuri Tuner monsters or Genex Ally Birdman (who is Limited).
Good Goblin Housekeeping	Back then, this Draw power was extremely good. It's bad now.
Gravity Bind	Formerly a powerful stall card, locking all Level 4 or higher monsters out of attacking for an unlimited number of turns. It's now much less useful, as removal is more widespread, and Xyz and Link Monsters are completely unaffected by it, as they don't have Levels. The speed of the game has developed to the point that most stall cards are particularly weak.
Icarus Attack	Powerful Chainable 2 for 2 card, which made Blackwings lethal. Now that they aren't topping much, and with S/T removal being popular, this came off the list.
Infernity Barrier	Powerful Trap card in Infernity Decks that negates almost anything. It's very easy for the opponent to meet its activation requirement since they don't have any cards in their hand most of the time, though near useless if they only have Infernity Necromancer, or similar monsters with low ATK. Can be searched easily by Infernity Archfiend. However, Infernity has been irrelevant in competitive play.
Magic Cylinder	Negates an attack and inflicts major burn damage. Finishing move. Moved off the Limited List due to its lack of use in the meta.
Macro Cosmos	Similar to Dimensional Fissure, this card gives an almost automatic win against another player if they run a Graveyard-reliant Deck and you don't. Was Limited in the TCG.
Metaverse	Activates a Field Spell directly from the Deck. Grants the user the ability to activate problematic Field Spells like Future Visions or Mystic Mine on their opponent's turn after having set up their own combo, adversely affecting their opponent's strategy. Can be searched by Trap Trick if run in multiples. Was removed from the Lists gradually after Mystic Mine was made Forbidden.
Mind Crush	1 for 1 card. You don't really need to be a psychic to use this card, as you can easily call a card name after the opponent has used a search/retrieval effect, like Salvage, Machina Gearframe, Gadgets, etc. Allows you to see opponent's hand. Also, this card owns Ritual Monsters, when they activate their Ritual Spell Card, chain this and call the name of their Monster; a 2 for 1. The intended "downside" of calling a card wrongly can also benefit Dark World/Fabled cards. The lack of overall use in the meta perhaps resulted in it coming off the list. Like Magic Cylinder and Call of the Haunted (above), most people wouldn't use 3 anyway.
Mirror Force	Solid battle-oriented Trap Card throughout the game's early competitive history. Most likely went to 3 due to lack of use in the meta, monster destruction being less powerful in the advent of monsters having protection against these types of effects, and Spell/Trap destruction being more common before entering the Battle Phase. Also many better variants of this card have been released since.
Needlebug Nest	Mills the top 5 cards from your Deck to the Graveyard for easy Graveyard setup. Mainly hit due to abuse in Shaddolls, Lightsworns, and Dragon Rulers, all of which were topping in the OCG at that time. It may come back due to Infernoids increased relevancy, however.
Ojama Trio	Clogs the field with nigh-unusable Tokens. Key card in Burn Decks. Finally dropped off the list thanks to Link format, in which giving your foe Tokens is highly advantageous to them.
Personal Spoofing	Once per turn, allows you to shuffle back an Altergeist you don't need to gain one you do, which is usually Altergeist Multifaker (Limited in the OCG). Unbricks most Altergeist hands. Not a hard once-per-turn, so can be used in multiples for even more searching power. However, Altergeists are no longer meta.
Reckless Greed	Because the skipped Draw Phases by its effect weren't accumulative, people wanted to stack these cards together...and then Unlimited again when fair shuffling techniques were enforced. JK, see why Upstart Goblin (above) was Limited.
Ring of Destruction	Was formerly Forbidden for causing too many draws in Tournaments and messing up Ranked Games. Instant destruction and serious burn. Lethal when combined with cards like Barrel Behind the Door or Spell of Pain. However, the effect has now been errata'd so it can only be used during the opponent's turn, can only be used on an opponent's monster with equal to or less ATK than the opponent's LP, and makes you take damage first, so it can't force tied games. Even after the balancing errata, though, it is still viable.
Royal Decree	1 card to continuously stop a large number of cards. Works well in Herald Decks to prevent the activation of Counter Trap Cards. Regardless, most modern competitive decks tend to avoid using Traps in the first place.
Sinister Shadow Games	Strong Trap card in Shaddoll Decks. Sends any Shaddoll monster from your Deck to the Graveyard AND can flip face-up a Shaddoll monster on your field, allowing you to get the effects of both the sent monster and the flipped monster. However, Shaddoll's relevancy in the meta was short-lived, partiucularly with "El Shaddoll Construct" being Forbidden for a few years.
Solemn Judgment	A powerful Counter Trap Card that can negate a wide range of actions (Summons or Spell/Trap Card activations), having a cost you can always pay. However, in recent years, the gaps in its coverage (monster effects, Special Summons that start a Chain, and effects of Spells/Traps already face-up on the field) have become much more prominent. Regardless, most modern competitive decks tend to avoid using Traps in the first place.
Solemn Strike	Powerful Counter Trap Card that can negate any Special Summon or monster effect for only 1500 LP. Can be somewhat better than Solemn Warning (Limited) due to its lower cost and somewhat broader negation pool, and can be searched by cards such as Guiding Ariadne. Regardless, most modern competitive decks tend to avoid using Traps in the first place.
Solemn Warning	A lot of effects that Special Summon are present in the game. Paying 2000 LP to use this card is almost always worth breaking a loop that would otherwise generate several large monsters. Even though Bottomless Trap Hole is arguably more powerful with Ignition Priority being revoked, this card can still counter loops and hits monsters which Bottomless cannot hit. Regardless, most modern competitive decks tend to avoid using Traps in the first place.
Soul Drain	Many Decks rely on Graveyard and banished effects in the current meta. This card could easily defeat an entire Deck, especially Dark World Decks. Regardless, modern competitive decks tend to avoid using Traps in the first place.
The Transmigration Prophecy	OCG stall Decks used this with D.D. Borderline. Also, it was at 1 so it couldn't loop with another copy of itself. Pot of Benevolence does the same thing, but that can't be chained to an effect, and that banishes itself so it can't return another copy of itself. Came off the list due to looping it being too slow for the current meta.
Torrential Tribute	Punishes over-extending, but can easily be stopped with Starlight Road and THRIO in most situations. Regardless, most modern competitive decks tend to avoid using Traps in the first place.
True King's Return	Easily searched by Dinomight Knight, the True Dracofighter, and generates easy advantage during either player's turn. As of recent however, True Draco/True King have fallen out of competitve relevancy in part due to Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King currently being Forbidden.
Wall of Revealing Light	Facing three in an Exodia Deck with LP recovery would be a real pain, especially because of Hope for Escape. Combos well with Reversal Quiz. Also abusable with Last Turn and Self-Destruct Button, both of which are Forbidden. However, these strategies are obsolete in the modern metagame.

In case someone somehow missed it. Click "Show" on the right side of the bar.

This list is for the people who are curious about why certain cards are banned/limited.

This list can also assist people before posting a prediction on the next banlist.

Please help out by pointing out changes that should be made in the list (if any) (please include reasons).

And for those who are wondering. No, I didn't make this list recently. It been on 2 other forums before. This is the most updated version of it as the other 2 aren't being updated.

See also: Historic Forbidden/Limited Chart. --  Falzar FZ  talk page  useful stuff    07:32, August 4, 2010 (UTC)

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